A Peculiar Situation
by marispots
Summary: Alya and Nino direct a class play for the spring festival, and the roles are announced by lottery. Everyone is shocked with the outcome, and circumstances push Marinette and Adrien together during the following weeks of rehearsals. Multi-chaptered, ladynoir. Find it on tumblr at marispots.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Alya and Nino direct a class play for the spring festival, and the roles are announced by lottery. Everyone is shocked with the outcome, and circumstances push Marinette and Adrien together during the following weeks of rehearsals.

Word count: 1K+

Oh my gosh hi there! This is my first ML fic, and I'm planning on continuing it if people like it! I'm trash when it comes to the two person love square so there will be tons of ladynoir down the road with this one.

I got this idea from two places: first from an episode of Cardcaptor Sakura when the class assigns roles for their play by lottery, and secondly from a post by unlucky fortunes on tumblr, who had a bunch of head canons about ML, and one of them happened to be having Marinette and Adrien learning to sing and dance and such. So thank you so much for the idea! ^^

Okay, enjoy~

* * *

"Settle down everyone," the homeroom teacher announced, raising her voice over the chattering students. "As you know, your classmates Alya and Nino have been working on this year's production for the spring festival! They've finished the script, and now we'd like to hold a lottery for the roles."

Marinette glanced at her best friend, who was beaming with pride as she got up from her seat and approached the teacher's desk. Nino, a row below, followed Alya. Adrien smiled at him before swiveling in his seat to look up at Marinette.

The designer was still hopelessly in love with the blonde haired boy, but over the past months her social skills with him had improved. She was tentatively using the term "friend" with him now, but of course she was hoping for so much more in the future.

"Did you get any information out of Alya?" Adrien asked, his green eyes bright with curiosity. Marinette shook her head and sighed.

"Nothing! She was really adamant about keeping the play's script a secret!"

"Same with Nino," he muttered. The teacher cleared her throat to gather the attention of the students again, and Adrien winked at Marinette before turning back around.

Her face felt hot as Marinette blinked rapidly, trying her best to return her attention back to Nino and Alya. She could feel Tikki giggling in the purse beside her hip.

"Hi everyone!" Alya greeted. "So, as the directors of our class's spring play, Nino and I have been working really hard on the script! We're proud to say that it's complete, and we'd like to reveal the theme to you!"

Excited looks were exchanged amongst the students as Nino approached the whiteboard and started to write out the title of the play.

Marinette froze in her seat, her eyes widening.

 _The Adventures of Ladybug and Chat Noir: The Musical._

"We decided to dramatize the story of Ladybug and Chat Noir, since they're local and they've helped us out a bunch," Nino explained to the class. "Who knows? Maybe they'll even show up to our play!"

Marinette could feel a headache forming. _Of course!_ She thought. _Of course, with Alya involved this was bound to happen!_

She did not feel comfortable at all with her class putting on a musical about _herself_ , but Marinette would just have to roll with it here. She would probably just help out backstage, anyways. She was in no way an actress or a singer.

Adrien glanced back at her again, and he looked shocked and a little uneasy. Maybe he thought the play's theme was a bad idea, too. She mustered up a grin at her crush and shrugged her shoulders.

"Now, we're going to get on the topic of roles," Nino explained. Chloe's hand shot up like a firecracker.

"I'll be playing Ladybug," she stated instantly. Alya rolled her eyes and groaned.

"No… it doesn't work like that, Chloe," she explained. "We want everyone to have an equal shot at getting a part, so we decided to make it a lottery."

Chloe started to protest, but was cut short by the teacher. Marinette could hear her grumbling under her breath about calling her father, but she was otherwise ignored as her classmates perked up at the idea of a lottery.

"We have this hat here, and we've placed everyone's name into it," Alya announced. "We're going to draw names from that hat to decide on the roles. Now, there are more students than roles, so a lot of people will have to help backstage during the show instead."

With that, Nino wrote down the list of roles on the board. The two obvious ones – Ladybug and Chat Noir – were placed at the top followed by a list of villains the duo had faced in the past.

"Alright, so first we are going to draw for the role of Ladybug!" Alya exclaimed happily. The class fell deathly still, watching with bated breath as she reached into the hat and fumbled for a slip of paper. Marinette could see Chloe crossing her fingers behind her back.

 _This is so weird…_ Marinette thought to herself, fidgeting in her seat uncomfortably. _I mean… one of my classmates is going to be playing_ me _? I wonder if I should give them pointers…? Wait, no, that's stupid, they don't know I'm even Ladybug… huh… I guess I'll just design the costume. I'll have to get the measurements of whatever girl it's going to be!_

"And our Ladybug is…" Alya paused, her eyes widening as she held up the slip of paper. She froze up and glanced at Nino in panic.

"Alya?" He approached her and stared down at the piece of paper. "Oh boy…"

"I… I didn't think this through, did I?" Alya groaned.

"Should we put it back and draw again?"

"N-no way! It shouldn't – it doesn't matter if – I'm not going to resort to _gender norms_! We have to be progressive!"

"Alya…"

At this point the two directors were huddled together, their backs to the class but their whispers loud enough for everyone to hear. Finally, the duo turned back around, grinning uncomfortably.

"Okay, guys!" Alya laughed nervously. "We've run into an unexpected scenario but we're going to plow right on ahead…! Our class's Ladybug is… is… Adrien Agreste!"

The class gasped in shock, and Marinette's head whipped up at the sound of her crush's name.

 _No way…_

Adrien sat unmoving, his eyes wide. " _What_?"

Alya looked at Adrien, her eyes pleading with him to accept the role. Nino laughed behind his hand, trying to keep his composure. Their classmates all stared at Adrien, some laughing as well, and others looking completely horrified as they tried to imagine their blonde haired classmate dressed up in a skin tight red and black jumpsuit.

"You're okay with it, right?" Alya asked the model. "Look, the rule was that whoever gets picked out of the hat has to accept the role! Please… do it for the class, Adrien!"

"… Alright then," Adrien responded slowly, his cheeks flaming red. He nodded. "Sure, I'll do it. It'll be… fun."

The class shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh my god I don't know how to feel about this," Chloe muttered.

"Uhh… so I guess it's a genderbender musical now…?" Juleka asked tentatively.

"Adrien… In red tights…" Kim voiced in disbelief.

"Okay okay okay okay!" Alya interjected quickly, waving her arms around in a hurry and holding up the hat. "This will be great! We are taking a new spin on things! I, personally, am warming up to the idea!" She stuck her hand in the hat and started to fumble around for another slip. "And now, we will announce our Chat Noir! Get excited everyone, because it's…"

…

…

…

"It's…"

…

…

…

"Mariette Dupain-Cheng…"

All eyes turned in her direction.

She blinked, focusing in on a pair of green eyes in front of her in particular. The edges of her vision started to go dark.

 _I'm… playing Chat Noir…?_

"Alya… I think I'm going to faint…"

And she did.


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: Alya and Nino direct a class play for the spring festival, and the roles are announced by lottery. Everyone is shocked with the outcome, and circumstances push Marinette and Adrien together during the following weeks of rehearsals.

Word count: 3k+

AHHHH thank you for the wonderful feedback for the chapter! You guys ROCK and I absolutely love the ML fandom with all my heart! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Check this story out on tumblr at marispots! Link to my tumblr account is in my FF description!

* * *

Marinette blinked open her eyes, her ears ringing and her head pounding. She could feel the world swaying slightly, as if she was moving… was someone carrying her…?

She craned her neck slightly and was met by a pair of piercing green eyes.

"A-Adrien…!"

Her face flushed, and she quickly became aware of Adrien's arms around her. He was clutching her shoulder tightly, and his other hand was snaked underneath her knees. Her cheek was pressed against his chest…

 _H-h-he's… HE'S CARRYING ME LIKE A BRIDE!_ Marinette screamed inside her head, nearly overheating and passing out again. _This is… this is too much for a girl to handle in one day…_

Tikki was unmoving inside her purse. Maybe her kwami had passed out from the shock of the situation as well. That, or she was just trying to stay still to avoid detection.

Adrien stopped walking to jostle Marinette more securely into his arms. She shut her eyes tight, her cheeks no doubt a deep shade of crimson by now.

"Are you feeling alright?" He asked, looking down at her with concern written over his features. "Marinette, you passed out. I volunteered to take you to the infirmary."

"I… I – oh _crap,"_ she groaned, remembering what had happened. _I even announced it to the class before I fainted_ , she thought to herself agonizingly. _This was so embarrassing… there couldn't be_ anything _more awkward than this…_

"So… uhm," Adrien hesitated, and Marinette was sure that if his hands were free he would be rubbing the back of his neck as he struggled with his words, something she had watched the boy do dozen of times before from afar. "We're starring in a play together…"

 _Oh my god, that's right._

"I wish I could pass out again," Marinette whimpered, shutting her eyes tight. She felt the vibrations of Adrien's laughter against her ear.

"It's not that bad," he tried to reassure her.

"Adrien, it's a nightmare. I'm playing Chat Noir in a school play?! How did I get stuck playing that goofball, of all people?"

Adrien fell silent above her, and when she looked up his eyes appeared a bit glazed and distant. She secretly wondered if he had even heard her. After a few moments of silence she twisted in his arms a bit to get his attention.

"H-hey, you can let me down. I really don't need to go to the infirmary, I'm feeling better."

He glanced down at Marinette, and she could have sworn she felt his hands tighten around her shoulder slightly.

"Are you sure?"

"P-positive!"

"Okay, but if you start feeling light-headed again I'm taking you there right away," he warned her, setting the designer back down onto her feet. "Let's sit for a bit."

They sat together on a bench in the hallway, their shoulders almost touching. Marinette wanted to die and jump for joy at the same time.

There were several pros and cons to this new situation she had landed herself in. The pros, obviously, were Adrien himself. This class play would no doubt force the pair to spend much more time together than they ever had before, what with rehearsals and script-readings and things like that. Just the thought of starring in a production with _Adrien_ made Marinette's heart flutter.

The cons…? Everything else.

Marinette's singing experience was limited to her shower only. Dancing? She'd never tried, but the only scenario she could picture in her head was somehow stepping on Adrien's foot during a slow dance.

 _N-not that there will be any slow dances between us in a musical about Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting crime_ , she thought nervously.

And her acting? She wasn't sure, but she didn't want to find out.

How would Marinette even _begin_ to play the role of Chat Noir, about her most trusted partner? There were _so_ many things she knew about her kitty cat that no one else did. Her classmates probably pictured him as some valiant, super suave and super cool masked hero. Marinette? She simply saw him as a dorky cat that happened to be useful from time to time.

 _This was going to be tough…_

"It'll be fine," Adrien reassured her, as if reading her mind. "This will be fun, Marinette… uh… you'll be able to tell me if I look good in spots or not," he joked.

"I'm sure you'll look great," Marinette blurted out before realizing what she was saying. Her cheeks went red and Adrien's eyes widened slightly before throwing his head back and laughing.

"And I'm sure you'll look cute in that cat suit," he said, smiling at her.

 _I'M GONNA PASS OUT AGAIN!_

"But hey, don't be nervous," Adrien told her. "I know things are a bit weird considering how we were casted but… I'm glad we get to play the lead roles together! You seem like you'd make a good superhero."

 _Oh, you don't even know the half of it,_ Marinette thought nervously, trying to muster up a smile in the direction of her crush.

"T-thanks! It means a lot!"

"Well," he sighed standing up and offering her a hand. "We should get back before they start to think we fled the country or something."

She accepted his hand, and he gave it a squeeze before letting it go. "Let's go, Chat Noir," he joked.

"Hah! Y-yeah…"

 _This was going to be a long, confusing week…_

* * *

Chat Noir launched himself from roof to roof, the Paris skyline twinkling behind him as he ran. It was nice to get out the stress and pent up energy that had accumulated during the day.

 _How am I even going to act remotely normal around My Lady now that I'm starring as_ her _in a musical?_ He thought to himself tiredly. He could list a thousand and one qualities as to why Ladybug was the most heroic, charming, and all around wonderful person in the world, but did his classmates know about the spotted hero as much as he did? Obviously not.

This was going to be difficult. He'd love to portray her a certain way in the musical, but he'd have to be careful and just listen to the directions that Nino and Alya gave him.

It sucked to work on a project about your best friend and not be able to tell anyone about it.

Chat leapt over a chimney and his mind wandered to his classmate, Marinette. How was she feeling about this whole thing? She had to play Chat Noir after all, and she still had no idea that he was the very same boy who'd carried her in the hallway today.

She'd really come out of her shell in the past months, but he still knew that she was terribly shy around him. It was frustrating. She was a nice girl – a good friend. He'd like to know more about her, but it was difficult when she was hardly willing to talk about herself to him…

 _"Adrien, it's a nightmare. I'm playing Chat Noir in a school play?! How did I get stuck playing that goofball, of all people?"_

Chat's eyes squinted as he jumped from another rooftop.

Marinette was so quick to dismiss his alter ego like it was nothing. Why did she act so differently when it came to Adrien and Chat Noir?

And more importantly, why did it bug him so much…?

"Here, kitty kitty!"

Chat Noir yelped, nearly losing his footing and slamming face-first into a satellite antenna. He righted himself quickly and landed on the roof below him. Laughter that sounded like bells approached him, and he whirled around, his face flushed.

"M-my Lady! Don't surprise me like that!"

"I thought cats always landed on their feet! What's the deal?" Ladybug laughed, walking up to him and waving in greeting. "It's nice to see you, Chat. It's been awhile."

That was right. There hadn't been an akuma sighting in a week, and this was the first time they'd run into each other on a patrol in forever.

"Did My Lady miss me?" Chat asked, winking. Ladybug laughed again.

"Of course! Hey, let's sit for a minute."

They both walked to the edge of the roof and sat down, their feet dangling over the edge. Chat glanced at Ladybug, who was staring at him intently, her lips pursed.

"What's the deal? Do I look especially handsome today?" He asked slyly. She hit him on the arm.

"I'm just observing," Ladybug snapped. "I'm trying to memorize the details of your suit… and your hair…"

Well, that was odd.

"Uhh, can I ask why?" Chat chuckled, and to his delight Ladybug's eyes widened and her cheeks colored slightly behind her mask.

"N-no reason!" She said quickly. "It's been so long since I've seen you, so I-I was just –"

Chat smiled in delight. His Lady had missed him? He sidled closer to her and snaked a hand around her waist in a bout of confidence. "I missed My Lady too, you know," he purred. Ladybug threw his hand away and glared. Chat merely grinned in response.

"You're so feisty," Chat laughed. "I'll have to remember that for the –"

 _YOOOO ADRIEN DON'T SAY IT!_ Plagg suddenly screamed in his head, and Chat caught himself immediately and started coughing. He'd almost said musical! Had he lost his _mind?!_

Ladybug raised an eyebrow at him in confusion. "…What was that?"

"N-nothing!"

"Oookaaay…"

They sat in silence for a few moments – Chat silently beating himself up for his near catastrophic slip up. He couldn't tell Ladybug that he was starring in a musical… as _her_. What would she think?!

 _Aren't you even considered about your secret identity just a tiny bit?_ Plagg asked. _She could figure out who you are if she somehow sees the play in her civilian form_!

Oh, right. That, too…

"Hey, uhm…"

Chat looked over at Ladybug, his internal dialogue with Plagg snapped.

"Do you remember Marinette? The designer who helped us against the Evillustrator?" Ladybug asked, and Chat froze up, the picture of his sweet yet shy classmate coming to mind.

"Yeah… I think I remember her," he said vaguely, trying to play it off like he hardly knew her.

"She's nice, right?" Ladybug smiled, looking over at the cat. "We keep in touch a bit, and today she mentioned that her class is putting on a musical… about us. How crazy is that?"

"W-wow," Chat blinked. _If you have any acting skills at all, now is a good time to use them!_ Chat thought to himself frantically.

"And get this… Marientte… is playing _you_!"

"They didn't cast the role to a guy?"

"No, apparently one of the directors forgot to separate the boys and girls when she randomly cast them, but now she's just rolling with it because she thinks it's progressive and such," Ladybug laughed. Chat did his best to chuckle along as well.

"Anways… I thought maybe you could help her out a bit," Ladybug continued. "She's a designer, so her friend who's the director wants her to design the costumes. She really wants to do a good job, so she was wondering if… maybe you could stop over and help her out? Maybe model for her as she draws out some sketches?"

Chat nodded, grinning at the thought of seeing Marinette as Chat Noir again. He honestly liked his classmate best when she was around his alter ego; she was so expressive and easygoing. She reminded him of Ladybug when she was like that…

"Sure," Chat nodded. "No problem. Why don't we go together, right now?"

"N-no!"

Chat blinked, looking at Ladybug's wide eyes.

"My Lady…?"

"S-she's really busy tonight, she told me how much homework she has to do," Ladybug explained. "She said tomorrow night would be best."

"Ahh, I see…"

"And I'll have to model for her another day, since I have plans tomorrow!"

"It's a shame," Chat sighed, once again moving closer to his partner. "It would have been so nice to model with you, My Lady."

"I'm sure it would have," Ladybug laughed, dodging the arm he tried to wrap around her shoulder as she stood up. "Anyway, if you could swing by her room tomorrow, that'd be wonderful. She said to just come in through the window, since her parents will be in the bakery downstairs working."

Chat nodded, standing up as well. The irony in this entire situation was really making his head spin. Marinette had no clue that _Adrien_ would be the one modeling for her designs. She'd have no clue that _she's_ actually playing Adrien _himself_ in the musical. He felt bad for deceiving her, but he also didn't want to pass up the opportunity to visit her at Chat. It would be interesting to see a louder, more talkative Marinette for a night.

Chat felt a pang in his chest, and glanced at Ladybug uncomfortably.

That was fine… right? To want to see Marinette? He was still madly in love with Ladybug… so it was fine…

"It looks like Paris is relatively quiet for another night," Ladybug said to the cat, looking across the horizon carefully. "I think we can end patrol here." She stepped up to Chat and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for agreeing to model, she'll be thrilled!"

"Anything for My Lady," Chat grinned, and Marinette sighed at the nickname before unclicking her yo-yo from her belt and launching the string at a nearby rooftop.

"Well, I'll catch you later, kitty," she winked. And with that, she was off.

And as Chat watched the love of his life swing away, he couldn't help the unbidden image of another dark haired girl that came to mind.

* * *

For the next few weeks, Marinette's class was officially in musical mode. Normal classroom activities had been postponed to allow time to rehearse and practice for the play. There was a lot to do, after all; script-readings, costume designing, set building, stage managing, dancing and singing lessons… it was going to be a long couple of weeks, that was for sure.

Marinette sighed as she plopped down against her desk, ignoring the flurry of activity around her.

"Come on, Marinette!" Rose cried, standing in front of the worn out girl. "You have to practice or else you'll never get any better!"

"Rose," Marinette groaned, looking up at her short classmate. "I just… I'm _not_ a dancer!"

"That's because you've never really applied yourself to it before," Rose consoled her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Practice makes perfect!"

"Yeah, and practice also leaves me _exhausted_ …"

Rose sighed, and noticed the blonde-haired boy walking across the front of the classroom. "Adrien! Can you come here for a moment?"

Marinette's head snapped up. Adrien glanced up at the two girls before smiling at Marinette and walking over.

"As you know, I'm the choreographer for the musical," Rose beamed, doing a little spin as she said this for dramatic effect. "So, I really need to help you guys practice your dance numbers!"

Adrien nodded. "Sure, that's not a problem. Which song's dance should we practice for?"

"Weeell…" Rose took the script off of Marinette's desk and started to flip through it. We could do _Patrolling Paris_ , but that has a lot of jumps in it so maybe we should hold off… Or we could do _Skating Through Time_ , or _Pigeon Parade_ … hmmmm…"

Adrien glanced at Marinette and smiled, and she laughed with him at the titles of the songs. _If only he knew,_ Marinette thought. _Imagine if he knew that I've actually really battled a crazy pigeon guy before… Oh, Adrien…_

"I've got it!" Rose shrieked, and Marinette nearly fell out of her chair from the noise. "Let's do the slow dance number!"

"… What?" Adrien and Marinette both voiced simultaneously, staring at the small girl in shock.

"Rose, what are you talking about? There's no slow dance in the script," Adrien said, grabbing the packet from her and gaping down at the page she had open. "W-when did this get here?!"

"Alya just added it," Rose noted innocently. Marinette sprung up from her seat and vaulted over the table without thinking. Adrien handed her the script and they read it together, both of their cheeks flushing red.

" _Chat Noir takes hold of Ladybug's hand and kisses it before sweeping her up in his arms... The soft strings of a violin plays as they begin SLOWLY WALTZING TOGETHER?!"_ Marinette read the script out loud, her voice rising in volume and panic. "W-what?!"

"This is the new song in the script, along with other scene changes," Rose explained to the pair. "Guys, didn't Alya tell you? She's adding in a romance between Ladybug and Chat Noir, because she got some pictures of them on her Ladyblog last night and she's pretty sure that they're romantically involved now…"

Marinette and Adrien were silent, staring at the small blonde-haired girl in disbelief and she whipped out her phone and showed them a picture from the Ladyblog. The duo was sitting perched above Paris on a rooftop. Chat's arm was around her waist. _I should have never let that cat touch me!_ Marinette fumed, her cheeks flaming up.

"Oh, yeah," Rose giggled. "I'm forgetting to tell you about the best part," she said while putting her phone away. "Get this… there's a kiss scene now! Right on the lips, hehe!"

"…"

Marinette turned slowly to face Adrien, who looked down at her in concern. "Marinette… you look like you're going to…"

"Pass out again?" Marinette laughed nervously, her vision darkening around the edges. "I'm fine… I just need to…"

She slumped into a seat quickly, her mind running on overdrive as she tried to calm her wired nerves.

 _They were going to slow dance together…? They were going to… kiss?! It was all too much for the girl to handle. How was she even going to keep her composure during rehearsals now that she knew that this was happening?!_

She felt Adrien seated next to her, rubbing circles along her back to help her calm down. In any other situation this would have only increased her heart rate, but Marinette was so consumed in her own thoughts that she hardly noticed. She peeked up at Alya across the room, who was watching the scenario unfold with glee. She winked at her best friend.

 _You can thank me later,_ Alya mouthed.

Marinette nodded numbly before collapsing against the desk, her heart nearly melting inside her chest as Adrien patted the girl on the shoulder.

She couldn't see the small smile that flicked across his face as he sat there, watching her.


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: Alya and Nino direct a class play for the spring festival, and the roles are announced by lottery. Everyone is shocked with the outcome, and circumstances push Marinette and Adrien together during the following weeks of rehearsals.

Read it and follow me on tumblr at marispots!

Words: 2.7K+

Oh look, an update!

College is hard. Finals are hard. And finding time to write while trying to college is VERY HARD.

Hope people still like this chapter though, and I can't wait until I have more free time to write during the holidays!

* * *

The rest of the school day was pretty hectic, to say the least.

Marinette was arguing with Alya most of the day, looking over the picture of Ladybug and Chat Noir and trying to convince her that there was absolutely nothing romantic between the superhero duo.

"How do you know? You friends with them?" Alya asked.

"N-no, but I…"

It turned into a huge class discussion then – were they or were they not dating? Sides were formed and debates were heated. Nino mostly agonized in the corner all day, cursing out his classmates' ability to get distracted from the musical so easily.

In the end Adrien mostly watched Marinette in action. She led the "not dating" team, along with Chloe, which was pretty odd.

"Why _are_ you so passionate about this Chloe?" Juleka asked.

"I'll do anything to save Adrien's precious lips from the likes of Marinette, even if I have to be on the same team with her to do it!"

"Oh God…"

After awhile Marinette merely slumped back into her seat, dejected as Alya took control of the classroom and even went so far as to project the image of Ladybug and Chat Noir onto the projector and deconstruct it down to its tiniest details.

"Do you see where his hand is? DO YOU SEE IT?!" She exclaimed passionately.

Adrien swiveled to face Marinette then. "So you really don't want to kiss me, huh?" He joked. Marinette sat up like a firecracker.

"W-what?!"

"I'm kidding," he laughed. "It's just… you're really against Ladybug and Chat Noir's relationship."

"There is no relationship," she said harshly.

Well, that was strange.

Marinette seemed to realize pretty quickly what she had said, and her eyes widened before shaking her head rapidly. "I-I mean… I just don't think that they… it's not that I don't want to kiss you Adrien, that's not it, but –" Her cheeks were enflamed. "It's just that I… I've talked to Ladybug a few times and she's never said anything about…"

Ah. That was right. Marinette and Ladybug weren't close, but they did talk occasionally. Of course Ladybug must have brought up Chat Noir to Marinette. Most of Paris probably had speculations about the duo's relationship, and apparently Ladybug was shooting that notion down to anyone that would listen.

It made Adrien pretty bummed, but he also understood. His feelings were never reciprocated. He already knew that.

He smiled at Marinette and nodded. "I've got it, don't worry," he told her before spinning back around. He kept his eyes downcast, trying to keep his dejected features out of sight.

He didn't notice the girl biting her lip behind him and smacking her hands against her head.

* * *

"I was just trying to help you out!" Alya's voice huffed into the receiver. Marinette cringed, lying on her bed with the phone pushed up against her ear. The dull thud of rain against her window only added to her poor mood as she tried to talk to her friend.

"I know… I know that…" Marinette tried to say.

"If there's anything that will get you closer to Adrien, then it's this!"

Oh, Marinette knew that. She definitely did, and it made her ecstatic just thinking about it. She'd just barely jumped over the hurdle of being able to call him her "friend" and not just her "classmate"… Anything more was a dream that Marinette desperately wished for, and this musical could be that one thing that helped Marinette with her confidence around Adrien. She _needed_ this… She could just _imagine_ Adrien pulling her to his side, slowly waltzing with her around a bright stage… his face leaning in, hip lips brushing hers…

But…

"I'll call you later, Alya," Marinette sighed. Her friend tried to interject before she clicked the phone closed and threw it down onto her pillow beside her head.

Tikki floated into Marinette's line of vision and landed on her forehead, peering into her eyes. "Do you wanna talk about it?" The cute kwami asked.

Marinette bit her lip. Tikki continued anyways.

"You really like Adrien," Tikki commented. Marinette nodded. "Are you upset about the rumor between you and Chat?"

"Yeah…" Marinette sighed, sitting up and letting her kwami fall into her hands. She looked down at her close friend, her dejected mood consuming her thoughts.

"I can't let the city think that there is a thing between Ladybug and Chat Noir," Marinette said. "Do you know how much trouble this will cause? He's one of my best friends… it'll mess everything up. The press will be down our throats!"

Tikki nodded in understanding, snuggling closer to Marinette to comfort her.

"We can't do a play about a romance that doesn't exist," Marinette stated. "As much as I'd love to with Adrien… It'll only convince people that something _is_ happening between Ladybug and Chat… From now on I have to tell that silly cat to be careful with how he acts toward me."

Marinette was a bit sad to think about it like that. She'd be lying if she said that she wasn't flattered by Chat Noir's constant affection. Sometimes, she even reciprocated it. If they wanted to avoid any more rumors, then she'd have to enforce a strict hands-off policy.

"Living a double life is troublesome," Marinette sighed, standing up and heading over to her desk. She clicked on her screensaver and stared at the pictures of Adrien.

In one picture his face was close-up to the camera, his green eyes bright and gentle… Suddenly a flash of cat-like green eyes crossed her mind. Marinette startled and stepped back, shaking her head.

 _Stop that!_ She scolded herself. _The two aren't even comparable…_

But wouldn't that make life easier? If Adrien was actually Chat Noir? It was almost laughable how easy it would make her life, if her crush and her best friend were one in the same.

"Wishful thinking," she sighed to herself.

"What, Marinette?" Tikki asked, floating up to her face.

"Nothing, nothing!"

Suddenly, Marinette heard what sounded like a crash upstairs, coming from her balcony. Marinette's eyes widened and she looked at the time on her clock.

"Crap! Tikki, hide!"

Her kwami was already one step ahead of her, flying into the closet. Marinette grabbed a handful of sweets and placed them next to her kwami before smiling at her and shutting the door.

"Thanks, Marinette!" Came Tikki's muffled reply.

The cat was coming down the ladder from the balcony just as Marinette turned around, her back straight and her hands folded behind her back. She grinned when Chat Noir landed on the floor and looked up at her, his eyes bright and alive with interest.

"It's been a long time, Princess," Chat greeted. Marinette laughed.

"It has… and you're soaked!"

Chat Noir's blonde hair was plastered around his face, and he was dripping onto her carpet. "Mind if I just shake it out?" He grinned, and Marinette yelped in protest.

"No way! Besides, I thought that was what dogs did, not cats! Hold on, I'll get you some towels…"

She ran to the bathroom and chuckled when Chat protested that he could, in no way, be compared to _mutts,_ as he called them. "How dare you!" He shouted after her in mock injury. "Everyone knows that cats are the _purrferred_ household pets!"

"Did you just make a cat pun?" She called back from the bathroom, inwardly groaning as she rifled through her cabinets for towels.

"Yes, and you know you liked it!"

She hid her smile behind her hand, trying to resist the laughter that was bubbling up in the back of her throat. Her bad mood from just moments ago seemed to have all but disappeared with the cat's arrival. He was so good at that… just teasing her, and getting her minds off of things.

It was easy with Chat. Incredibly easy to talk with him… She wished that she could one day be with Adrien like that. All she wanted to do was be able to talk to him without stumbling over her words or worrying about how she acted…

Maybe one day he'd look at her the way Chat looked at Ladybug or Marinette… with a playful twinkle in his eyes, or an excited smile, or just a general air of happiness to be around her…

Marinette's face flushed. Why was she comparing the two of them again? She had to stop doing that! Adrien and Chat Noir were two _completely_ different people. She liked _Adrien_ , and she was _friends_ with Chat. She couldn't lump them together like that…!

 _But why not…?_

She hurried back into her room, shaking her head. When she walked in Chat was in the middle of reciting some other lousy pun he'd probably found on the Internet. She threw a towel in his face, and he spluttered and glared at her, moving the towel to his head to dry his soaked hair.

"Dry off, and then we'll get started," Marinette told him, walking to her desk and grabbing her sketchpad and pencils. "I need to get the details of the suit just right…"

Chat paused, glancing at her. "And this is for… uh… a musical?"

"Yeah, and I'm playing _you_ , believe it or not."

Chat nodded. "Yeah, Ladybug told me…"

She glanced up at Chat's glossy gaze. "… What?" Marinette asked nervously, grabbing her swivel chair and moving it in position in front of him. "Don't think I can crack off cat puns as well as you do?"

"No… I think you'll do a good job. An amazing job, actually," he said sincerely. "I couldn't think of anyone more perfect…" He stepped closer to her, gazing at her face.

 _Crap, I hate when he gets like this_ , Marinette thought frantically to herself.

Marinette had only encountered Chat as Marinette a few times, but she'd seen this before. Sometimes… she wondered if he'd figured her out – noticed the similarities she shared with Ladybug. When the teasing stopped between them, he'd sometimes get quiet… and gentle. It unnerved her. Sometimes he looked at Marinette like he looked at Ladybug… with adoration.

"A-and that's why I need you to model for me right now!" Marinette said abruptly and a tad bit too loudly, effectively breaking the quiet mood that'd fallen over the pair. He nodded and she sat down and set to work, squinting holes into his suit as she studied every detail and did her best to avoid looking into his bright eyes.

The joking, light-hearted atmosphere was gone, and Marinette retreated in on herself as she worked. _You like Adrien_ , she reminded herself sternly. _Why are you so flustered around Chat? He's just a silly kitty who flirts with anything that moves…_

No, that wasn't true. She'd seen Chat around other girls… Chloe… Alya… he didn't act with them like he did around Marinette and Ladybug…

She continued sketching, her cheeks dangerously heating up. He treated her differently… she wasn't stupid, it was plain as day. He treated her like he treated Ladybug…

 _Oh my gosh stop thinking about this RIGHT NOW MARINETTE!_

"Hey."

 _Don't look up, don't you dare –_

She looked up.

Thankfully, Chat was glancing off to the side, looking at her desk and her open screensaver with Adrien plastered all over it. He turned back to face her before she could worry about it and locked his gaze with hers.

"I'll help you practice," Chat Noir said firmly.

"… What?"

"I'll help you practice… you know… on how to be me," he shrugged. "For the musical."

 _Oh…_

 _OH._

 _OH COME ON MAIRINETTE YOU BETTER SAY NO TO THIS STUPID CAT –_

"Sure," she agreed breathlessly. She could feel the rational part in the back of her mind fizzle up and die in response.

Chat blinked and then grinned, the quiet mood snapping just as easily as it had come. "Great!" He laughed. "I'll teach you all my suave techniques, Princess," he winked, grabbing hold of her hand and kissing it. She lifted up a leg and kicked him lightly in the chest, forcing him to back up.

"This is just for the play, got it?" She warned. "I just want to play my part well in the play!"

"And with me, you will!"

"Ha… right," Marinette agreed weakly. Chat bent down and retrieved her pencil, which had clattered to the floor earlier, and placed it back into her palm. "Let's finish this first," he told her. "And then tomorrow… the real fun will begin!"

* * *

Adrien was just… confused.

Confused at how he had acted last night around Marinette. Why was he doing all of this for that girl? Why had he offered to help her?

He knew that Marinette liked _Adrien,_ not Chat Noir. He'd seen her screensaver last night in her room. He'd had his speculations, but now he was certain. Marinette liked him. Marinette liked _him,_ Adrien Agreste, not somebody behind a mask.

And yet… here he was, finding excuses for him to spend more time with her as Chat. Instead of breaking down her walls as Adrien, he was taking the easy path and resorting to his more commanding, silly, and confident cat-like persona.

Why couldn't he do anything as just Adrien…?

He contemplated all of this, staring out at the dreary morning weather during his ride to school the next morning. Plagg was peaking out from inside the bag that he had placed on his lap, his usually carefree eyes scrunched up in concern.

"Adrien?" Plagg whispered. "Are you still thinking about last night…? Get over it!"

"It's not that simple, Plagg…"

There were so many things that were going wrong all of the sudden, it seemed. Chat liked Ladybug… _Adrien_ liked Ladybug. Why did he suddenly care what Marinette thought of him? Why did he want to help her so much? Since when did he pay so much attention to this girl?

He'd felt it last night… that shift in the atmosphere. He's sure that she had felt it too, and that's why she changed the subject so abruptly and started sketching his suit… she'd been trying to distract herself from him.

This all made his head hurt. She liked Adrien, not Chat. But Adrien… he didn't know how to talk to her without _being_ Chat. No one had ever liked him as genuinely as she did… what if he hurt her in some way? Marinette wasn't his number one… it was Ladybug…

When he walked into his classroom he could barely look at Marinette. _Don't just let Chat handle your feelings,_ he scolded himself, but still – he was quiet around the girl all day. Luckily, the day was devoted to set design, so there were no scenes between the pair to be rehearsed. Adrien simply painted a backdrop for most the class, his mind wandering a thousand miles a minute.

"Adrien?"

He jumped and turned to face Marinette, almost knocking over the bucket of paint near his shoe.

She was frowning down at him. There was glitter covering her right cheek – she must have been working one of the villain's costumes and wiped at it without noticing. _She's so cute…_ Adrien thought to himself before silently cursing and shaking his head.

"Are you alright?" Marinette asked, taking a seat beside him. "I've noticed that you've been really quiet all day… N-not that I've been watching you or anything, I just…"

"I'm fine," he smiled at her, trying his best to look her in the eyes. "Thanks for noticing, though. It's sweet."

She flushed red and coughed slightly, turning to face the prop he'd been painting – the Eiffel Tower.

"You have a knack for this," she noted, admiring how he mixed the colors to represent the night sky surrounding the tower.

"Thank you. My mother was a painter," Adrien said, letting the words slip out before he realized it. His eyes widened – where had that come from? He never told anybody about his mother…

Marinette seemed to realize the sensitivity of the subject. "Well, uhm… if you ever want to talk about… things that are bothering you… you, uh, know where to find me," Marinette said tentatively. "I-I'm your friend, okay?"

Adrien nodded in appreciation, still having a hard time looking her in the eye. His feelings were so mixed up…

"Thank you," he told her, turning back around and grabbing his paint brush. He felt her rest a hand on his shoulder before getting up to leave.

 _She's not Ladybug_ , Adrien reminded himself.

And yet for some reason, he didn't care.


	4. Chapter 4

Summary: Alya and Nino direct a class play for the spring festival, and the roles are announced by lottery. Everyone is shocked with the outcome, and circumstances push Marinette and Adrien together during the following weeks of rehearsals.

Word count: 2.6K+

I really like this chapter, and I hope you all do too! :) Favorites and reviews are really appreciated - it lights up my day when I get to see my stories circulating around and people enjoying them!

Follow me on marispots at tumblr - I take requests!

* * *

"He's avoiding me, Tikki," Marinette sighed, staring up at the poster of her blonde-haired classmate hanging above her dresser. She lay in bed, Tikki snuggled up against her chest. The setting sun was casting shadows and an orange glow around her room, but she was too deep in thought to bother to turn the light on.

Her parents had noticed her quiet mood at dinner earlier that night, and her father had tried to get her to spill what was eating at her.

Sabine seemed to know what it'd been instantly. "Adrien troubles?" She had whispered to her in passing. Marinette nodded, and Sabine had wrapped her up in a quick hug. "Love is painful."

"Tell me about it…"

"Everything will be alright, Marinette," Tikki reassured her, flying over toward the light switch next to the door. She gave it a tug and was sent tumbling backward when the switch flipped. Marinette jumped up to make sure her kwami was okay, enveloping Tikki in her hands and carrying her back to her bed.

"Are you alright?" She laughed.

"Just dizzy," Tikki said, shaking her head. "You're so caring, Marinette! Adrien will notice that soon, don't worry!"

"I don't know," Marinette shrugged. "We were getting closer… and then today he just didn't act like himself around me."

"In his defense… you never act like yourself around him either."

Marinette groaned, faceplanting into the pillows on her bed. She felt Tikki's small paw stroking her hair in comfort.

"Hey, Princess!"

Marinette's eyes widened, still laying face first into her pillows as Tikki's warmth disappeared in an instant. Before Marinette even knew what was happening Chat was scaling the ladder down into her room.

He'd been nearly silent coming in through the hatchway from her balcony! He must have figured out how to open the door without making so much noise. _Damn it..._

"Well, this is a depressing sight," Chat remarked, looking at the girl who seemed to be planking on her bed. "Do you do this often, or…?"

Marinette huffed and sat up, glaring daggers at the cat. "No! I was just… sulking… I think."

Chat blinked, and Marinette felt like dying. _Of course the stupid kitty walked in with the worst possible timing!_

"And why are you sulking, exactly?" Chat asked, plopping himself down onto the bed beside her without her permission. She scooted a bit away from him and crossed her knees into her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs.

"I'm just… stressed. About the musical," she answered lamely.

"Okay, that's totally a lie, but I won't press you on it," Chat said, smiling at her. "I figured you would have told me what was _really_ bothering you if you wanted to talk about it."

"Wait, Chat that's not it –" Marinette moved forward slightly, her hand outstretched, but then dropped it. No, he was right. That was _totally_ it. Of course she wasn't going to tell Chat about her boy troubles. Her cheeks started to heat up just at the thought of it.

 _Chat and Adrien are separate. Keep it that way,_ she scolded herself.

"I'll let you deal with your problems on your own, but I _can_ help distract you from them for awhile," Chat stated, jumping up and pulling Marinette along with him.

"What?" She asked, startled. He had his hand in hers, and pulled her closer to him until their chests were almost touching.

He grinned, looking into her eyes as Marinette's face flushed from the close contact. "Y-you stupid cat, if this is how you plan to distract me…" She trailed off, slightly lost in his bright green eyes. He leaned his face closer to hers, and he was so close - so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath heating her cheeks.

What was even happening? Why was he - ?

Chat tapped her on the nose and pulled his face away, grinning wickedly.

"Wow, what are you thinking about, Princess?" Chat accused jokingly. "Get your mind out of the litter box!"

"T-that's not it, I just… the litter box? Seriously?" Marinette smacked his arm, and he responded by snaking it around her waist and lifting her up slightly. " _Chat! Put me down!_ " She cried, wrapping her arms around his neck to steady herself.

"Just trust me, its part of the lesson!" He winked before climbing the ladder up to her balcony with her in tow.

Once outside on the balcony, Chat didn't stop even when they reached the railing. He simply clambered up onto the metal bars, Marinette still hanging onto his side.

"Chat! Don't you dare do what I think you're going to do," she warned, and he merely grinned.

"Lesson number one: you need to learn how Chat Noir gets around!" He tightened his hold around her before leaping off the balcony railing. Marinette didn't scream – was she supposed to? She'd leapt from building to building so many times before herself. She wasn't scared – but she _was_ afraid that Chat could be that person who would be stupid enough to drop her…

So she clenched onto his neck tightly, anchoring herself to his body as he jumped from building to building. After a while he landed on a nearby roof and started climbing the side of a taller building. When they reached the top, he set her down and she backed away from him.

"That was overly-dramatic," Marinette grumbled, taking deep breathes of the cool autumn night air to ease the red tint that no doubt covered her cheeks.

"Lesson number two: nothing that Chat Noir does is ever overly-dramatic," he winked, motioning for her to look out at the view. Paris twinkled before them, the Eiffel Tower dazzling their vision. Marinette was reminded of Adrien's painting from earlier in the day. He'd really done the tower's beauty justice, that was for sure.

"I love it," Marinette sighed, looking out at her city. Staring out at Paris's horizon was often her favorite pastime while out on patrol.

"I'm glad you do," Chat smiled. "Looks like you won't be needing lesson number three after all."

She glanced at him, her curiosity piqued. "Oh? Well, I'd like to hear it anyways."

Chat took a deep breath, the cool wind ruffling his blonde locks as he stretched. He opened his eyes and looked down at Marinette contently. "Our motive," he said simply.

"Our… motive?" Marinette asked slowly. He nodded.

"Why does Chat Noir fight off akuma after akuma each week? Why does he deal with the tedious double live, the constant hounding of the press? Don't you think it'd be easier to just live a normal life?" He paused. "Probably," he shrugged. "But he doesn't. We don't. We put on our mask for this." He beckoned to the Paris skyline.

Marinette was memorized. She'd never heard Chat speak with such sincerity before, and his speech made her swell with pride. She knew exactly how he felt, because she did all of the same things as Ladybug. She took beatings from akumas because she cared about her city and the people in it. Sure, the job was tiring – but what she was fighting for was worth it.

"If you want to give the role of Chat Noir any justice at all… then you'll keep this in mind. It's my most important lesson," Chat told her, his eyes soft as he looked down at her.

Marinette smiled, and reached up on her tiptoes to kiss the cat on the cheek. "I don't think I'll have any problems then," she whispered. Chat coughed, his cheeks dusting red as she stepped away from him and turned to face her city once more.

"You sure are lucky to have a teacher like me," Chat laughed after calming down a bit from the kiss on the cheek. He leaned against the railing in front of them. "Too bad that poor kid in your class doesn't have Ladybug to teach him anything… what was his name again? Adrien?"

Marinette's eyes widened and she shot up like a rocket. "That's it!" She gasped, turning to face Chat in excitement.

"Uh… what?"

"I-I mean… you're right, it's a shame," Marinette said quickly, a huge smile still plastered on her face.

"You concern me sometimes," Chat told the blue-eyed girl. "Did anyone ever tell you that before?"

Marinette brushed off the comment, her mind working into overdrive. How had she not thought about it before? Adrien had seemed distant lately in school, she was sure of it. Maybe some surprise visits from Ladybug could cheer him up? It was worth a shot. Plus, the thought of visiting Adrien as Ladybug sent her heart spinning. It was the perfect way to spend time with him!

"Alya tells me that all the time," Marinette giggled, smiling up at Chat. "Did anyone ever tell you that sometimes you're actually smarter than you look?"

Chat thought for a moment and then shrugged. "No, but I'll take what I can get, Princess."

"Announcement, everyone!" Nino called out to the bustling classroom. Everyone stopped in his or her tracks, and Adrien looked up from his script. He was in a quiet mood again today; it was hard to look Marinette in the face as Adrien when just last night he'd been leaping over rooftops with her in his arms… as Chat. Wearing a mask. _Coward._

He tried his best to direct his attention to his friends. Nino and Alya looked ecstatic. "Alright guys, so for the past few days now, Marinette and Nathanial have been working really hard on designing and creating our costumes for the play! They've just finished them, so we'd like everyone to try them on when they get home tonight and tell us how they fit!"

The class cheered in excitement, and Adrien's cheeks flushed slightly red when he caught some people glancing at him in anticipation. He hadn't thought the moment of truth would have arrived so soon... _Damn it, Marinette._

Speaking of the blue-haired beauty, she walked past the window pushing a rack of costumes, Nathanial helping her steer. They both pushed the rack into the room and beamed. Marinette had glitter on her cheeks again, but this time her jacket was covered in the substance as well.

 _Did she just spill it on herself this time or something?_ Adrien thought frantically, watching as she looked down and tried to brush some of the glitter away.

Alya and Nino passed out the costumes to their respected actors. Max received his Lady Wifi outfit, Kim the Timebreaker jumpsuit, Alix the Dark Cupid costume…

Alya dropped the Mr. Pigeon costume down onto Chloe's desk. The blonde-girl sat with her arms crossed, her eyes disgusted and furious.

"It really is a genderbender," Juleka muttered from the back of the classroom.

"I-It is not!" Alya said hotly, handing the pale girl the Robocop costume. Juleka smirked up at her, the outfit just proving her previous statement, and Alya spluttered before storming back to the front of the class to get more costumes.

"If this musical is anything it's _unique_ , that's what it is!" Alya announced. Nino patted the girl on the shoulder in sympathy.

"Just admit that you forgot to separate the lottery by gender," Nino whispered to her.

" _No!_ It was all planned!"

"Oh, Alya…"

Adrien laughed into his hand, watching his two friends bicker. How Nino handled Alya's limitless energy so calmly was beyond him _. Good for Nino_ , he thought.

He caught Marinette's eye without thinking, and she waved and pointed at the pair before giggling herself. Looks like they both felt the same way about their two best friends.

"Adrieeeeen," Alya sang, hopping up to him and placing the red and black spandex suit onto his desk. "Here you are! Marinette worked _really_ hard on it!" She skipped away, and Adrien held up the suit, examining it.

The material was fantastic, and captured every last detail of the real Ladybug's suit… Marinette had even added Ladybug's yo-yo to the ensemble. Ladybug must have gone through an intense modeling session for the girl… the detail was top-notch.

Just then the bell rang signaling the end of school for the day. Excited chatter filled the classroom as the students left with their costumes, no doubt dying to try them on when they got home. Adrien picked up the Ladybug costume carefully, trying his best to not wrinkle it in the bag. Marinette was picking her black costume up off the rack herself.

"You did a great job," Adrien told her. She whipped around to face him, her cheeks flushing red.

"T-thank you!" Marinette smiled. "Tell me if anything needs adjusting… the material is stretchy, so it should be one-size fits all, but if there's any issues at all let me know!"

Adrien nodded, her wide, genuine smile simply infatuating. His mind flashed to her face last night, the light of the Eiffel Tower glittering in the reflection of her blue eyes…

And his stomach plummeted with guilt.

He nodded quickly, smiling at her before leaving the classroom. When he got to his car parked out front, Adrien slumped against the backseat, his thoughts spinning.

Was he… leading her on? Was that even possible? Marinette liked _him_. She liked Adrien… who, in his own defense, was also Chat Noir. Wasn't it fine to hang out with her as Chat?

 _No, and you know it's not!_ He scolded himself.

Adrien was nearly lifeless during his next three hours of photo-shoots at his father's studios. He tried his best to work through the motions – to smile for the camera when needed, but it was difficult to be genuine. Even the photographers noticed this, and after hundreds of takes he was finally allowed to go home.

He slumped down against his bed, exhausted both mentally and physically. Plagg flew out from his bag, zipping around in circles to ease cramped muscles.

"Ohhh, your girlfriend did a good job," Plagg remarked, flying over to the Ladybug costume, which Adrien had hung up on the back of his bedroom door. "Try it on!"

"Not tonight, Plagg. I'm exhausted," Adrien yawned. Plagg groaned.

"Aww, come on!" His kwami protested. "I never get to see you in tights – I'm always stuck in that ring! I gotta see how stupid you look, just this once!"

Adrien knew that this was Plagg's way of being endearing, so Adrien sighed and retrieved the costume from the hanger. Plagg cheered.

Marinette hadn't been kidding when she said it was one-size fits all. The material was form fitting – more so than his Chat Noir suit – but it wasn't too tight and actually felt very comfortable. Adrien glanced in the mirror and nearly died, however. He looked like the world's biggest Ladybug fanboy in this! Which… was probably actually true, to be honest, but still…

Plagg was roaring with laughter, and nearly passed out when Adrien completed the look by putting on the spotted mask.

"Y-you look r-ridiculous!" He roared.

"Haha," Adrien deadpanned. "Alright, I get it. Very funny."

"Where's your camera? We need to document this!" Plagg cried, flying to Adrien's dresser and pulling open a drawer. The kwami dove in, searching for the device.

Adrien stood over the drawer, watching Plagg dig through his belongings. He froze when he heard a quiet knock at the other side of the room… Without thinking he closed the dresser drawer closed, earning a muffled protest from Plagg as he turned around…

And nearly died from shock.

Ladybug was perched up on the ledge of his window, waving at him from behind the glass.

"Hi!" She called, her blue eyes twinkling and her smile wide. "I'm loving the new look!"


	5. Chapter 5

Summary: Alya and Nino direct a class play for the spring festival, and the roles are announced by lottery. Everyone is shocked with the outcome, and circumstances push Marinette and Adrien together during the following weeks of rehearsals.

In this chapter: Adrien is caught looking like a total cosplaying fanboy, Marinette agonizes over her internal dilemma, and Alya's scriptwriting needs some work.

Word count: 3.7K+

Follow me on tumblr at marispots! Reviews and favorites mean the world to me! :)

* * *

With her confidence soaring behind her spotted mask, Ladybug couldn't help but giggle at the scene in front of her.

Adrien looked completely _mortified_ as he scrambled backwards, hitting his dresser with his back and nearly falling over. Ladybug felt guilty for putting him in this awkward position, but she'd be lying if she said it wasn't kind of amusing. She was _always_ the flustered one around him. It was nice to see the tables turned for once.

Her mood was also in high spirits when she noticed how well made the costume looked. It fit Adrien perfectly! She was so relieved!

Ladybug knocked on the glass again and waved good-naturedly. "Mind letting me in? It's cold out here!" She called, the cool autumn air biting at the back of her neck.

Adrien didn't move an inch – his cheeks were crimson red and his mouth was hanging open slightly. Ladybug sighed. Maybe she'd surprised him a bit _too_ much. This visit was suddenly turning sour before her eyes.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid! He's not happy to see you!_ That small, self-conscious voice in the back of her head berated. Ladybug's body reacted in fear – her muscles started to tense, and she turned, ready to jump away from the window sill when –

" _Wait_!"

She caught herself and turned. Adrien was rushing toward the window.

Ladybug slipped inside his room when he unlocked and opened it. She gave him a grateful grin, desperately trying to restore the confidence that she knew her alter ego bestowed upon her.

"Hello, Adrien Agreste," she greeted, crossing her arms and giving his outfit a proper once-over.

 _Dang_. She was just starting to realize how… form fitting it really was… Her cheeks heated up when she noticed how fit Adrien's body was. He was tall and lean, but toned too – he reminded her of Chat…

 _Stop it!_ She scolded herself.

"W-what are you doing here?" Adrien stuttered, still trying to gain back his composure. "You know my name…?"

"Of course! You're famous!" Ladybug informed him. "I see your ads everywhere around the city!"

"Do you…?" Adrien trailed off, unable to look the spotted hero in the eye. "I never thought of that…"

A beat of silence passed between them before Adrien addressed the elephant in the room.

"I can explain why I'm dressed like this."

"Oh, I bet you can," Ladybug giggled, deciding to play the oblivious card for now and pretend that she had no idea what exactly the costume was for. She was having too much fun to stop!

"Well, you see… I –"

"Cosplay?" She guessed, grinning wickedly.

"W-what?! No!"

"That's a shame. I like cosplayers."

"… You do?"

Ladybug shrugged, and Adrien coughed before looking away, his face burning.

"I'm part of a musical for my class," he tried to explain desperately. "I got cast as you… I… I should have shut my curtains before trying this costume on, I totally forgot that you –"

"Swing from rooftops around the city," Ladybug interrupted. "Yeah, that's a problem…"

Another moment of awkward silence pushed down on them – well, mostly Adrien – before Ladybug snorted, covering her mouth with her hand. Adrien looked up – horrified – before Ladybug burst into a fit of laughter.

"I know about the musical, don't worry!" Ladybug giggled, and Adrien visibly relaxed, his shoulders dropping as he sighed. "I heard you were playing me in the musical, so I decided to drop in!" She paused for a second before gathering her courage. "A girl in your class, Marinette, told me that you'd might appreciate… uh… lessons."

Adrien froze.

"Lessons?" He squeaked out, his voice breaking. "M-Marinette did…?"

 _Oh my gosh he's adorable_ , Ladybug thought frantically.

"Well… yeah!" She continued, choosing her words carefully as she tried to navigate the conversation without revealing herself. "Marinette… she told me that Chat Noir's been stopping by and helping her act like him, which I can only imagine as completely ridiculous, but… I thought, well, if Chat's doing that for her, then I can do the same for you!"

Adrien looked beyond uncomfortable, and Ladybug wondered if offering him lessons was pushing it too much. _He probably thinks this is weird…_ She thought to herself, biting her lip slightly as she watched Adrien squirm in front of her.

"Okay."

She blinked. "Okay?"

Adrien took a deep breath before smiling widely at her, his green eyes lighting up the room behind his spotted mask. "Yeah. Nothing can be more embarrassing than this situation right now, so I can't imagine lessons being that bad…"

Ladybug hid her smile behind her hand and punched the boy good-naturedly on the arm. "That's the spirit! Let's get started!"

* * *

Well… Now Adrien knew how Marinette felt when he visited her as Chat Noir.

This was crazy! What was Ladybug even doing here, in his _bedroom_? She _knew_ who he was? She'd seen his _modeling_ before? This was too much for him to take! He'd only ever interacted with his Lady behind the mask, and he wasn't entirely sure how to talk to her as just Adrien.

He knew that this was definitely Marinette's doing, and his mind flashed back to last night on the rooftop, and how she'd been grinning wickedly and not telling Chat why she looked so damn pleased with herself. Now he knew... and he wasn't sure whether he should thank her for it or not, considering the situation he was in.

They were both currently seated on the edge of his bed, looking identical in their spotted jumpsuits. Ladybug had the script to the musical on her lap, but kept glancing over and snorting at Adrien's costume.

"I-It's for the play, remember?"

"Oh, I _remember_!" She grinned.

 _I can't take this_ , Adrien internally agonized, his face heating up. He'd dreamed of hanging out with Ladybug in his civilian form before, but not like this!

"Right! Okay, there are some things that you can add to this script to make it more accurate," Ladybug explained, hopping up off the bed to face Adrien. "For example…" She flipped a few pages back. "I transform by using my earrings, not with a 'magical brooch'…" She blinked. "Oh god, Alya has been watching too much Sailor Moon…"

Adrien perked up at the name of his friend. "You know the director?"

"Yeah, I uh – she runs the Ladyblog," Ladybug said quickly. "But, that's beside the point! I use earrings to transform. Did the costume come with them?"

Adrien's paused. Marinette _had_ included a pair of ladybug-spotted clip on earrings in the ensemble, but he hadn't gotten the chance to try them on. Oh God no, he couldn't wear them in front of his Lady –

"Here they are!"

Adrien whipped around, his eyes widening as Ladybug reached into the bag that the costume had come in and dropped to red earrings into her palm. "Oh wow, these are adorable! Your classmate did a fantastic job!" His cheeks heated up when she approached him then, kneeling down in front of his face. She clipped both earrings onto his ears and winked.

"I could have put them on myself," he huffed, unable to look the spotted heroine in the eye. She giggled in response.

"Up up up!" She cheered, grabbing hold of Adrien's hands and pulling him to his feet. She backed away and grinned before yelling, "SPOTS ON!"

She stuck a pose. Adrien blinked.

"…What?"

"That's what I say when I transform!" Ladybug said, frowning at Adrien's expression. " _What_?"

"I just… didn't think it'd be – n-no, I mean it's cool!" He tried to recover, noticing the annoyance that flashed through Ladybug's eyes.

"Well," she huffed, crossing her arms. "I can assure you that Chat Noir's catchphrase isn't all that much cooler."

 _Wait. What?_

"A-and how do you know Chat Noir's catchphrase?" He asked, his voice slightly breaking in distress. He'd always been so careful, how had she heard him?! Did she… did she know that he was really…?

"It's actually a pretty funny story," she laughed. "Once he was stuck and a freezer and –"

"Oh gosh, not that one please," Adrien groaned in embarrassment before catching himself. He glanced up at Ladybug quickly, whose head was cocked to the side.

"How do you…?"

"T-that was when Alya turned evil," Adrien stated quickly. "It was broadcasted throughout the entire city, remember?"

"Huh." Ladybug nodded. "Okay. Well, anyways, that silly kitty got himself locked in a freezer, and I heard him yell 'claws out!' in there when I was trying to get the door open." She giggled. "If you ask me, mine is much better!"

Adrien watched his Lady, her laughter sounding like bells. He wasn't sure what it was about her, but when Adrien was with Ladybug, he could feel his walls he'd spent years building up start to collapse to dust. When he was with her, he could act more like he wanted to act – more like Chat. He grinned before clearing his throat to get her attention. "I don't know… Claws out is pretty catchy!"

Ladybug gasped in mock horror. "Oh, come on Adrien!"

"I think it's _purrfect_ for Chat Noir!"

"ADRIEN, NO."

Adrien had forgotten how easy it was to fall into silly banter with his Lady. She was scrunching her noise in disgust at the use of the cat pun, and his mind flashed back to last night in Marinette's bedroom. She'd reacted the same way. Were his puns really _that_ bad? He'd have to ask Marinette what she really thought about them…

Wait…

Why was he suddenly thinking of that girl? Ladybug was in his _bedroom_. Talking to him! His idol – his true love – was right here! He had to focus!

"… Adrien?"

His head snapped up. Ladybug was staring down at him, concern evident in her eyes. "You alright…?"

"Fine!" He said quickly, raising his hands up in assurance. "I was just thinking about… uh, you!"

 _Seriously?_ Adrien agonized to himself.

Ladybug blushed behind her mask. "Oh…"

"I-I mean –" Adrien desperately scrambled for words. "I want to get to know you more, for the musical! I want to be the best Ladybug I can be, so I need to start getting to know the real Ladybug herself!"

Ladybug hesitated. "Well, what do you want to know about me?"

"Anything," he breathed instantly. "Everything." He stood up and took a step toward her – and he could feel it. There was something charged in the room between them, something he'd felt before when he was with her as Chat Noir. He couldn't explain it, really, but then again he didn't really want to. He just wanted to experience whatever this was without things getting complicated…

"I'd love to get to know you more… with the mask and without…"

Ladybug took a step away from him, and Adrien snapped out of his thoughts and took a step back as well.

Too late. Things were _way_ beyond complicated.

"Sorry, I –"

"It's fine," she said quickly, offering him a weak smile. "I think it's a good idea for us to be closer friends, but I'm just warning you now that I have an identity to keep secret." She bit her lip, her arms crossed tightly as if she was uncomfortable with the situation. Adrien didn't blame her, considering how he'd just come off. He'd acted so Chat-like with her… he'd have to keep himself in line from now on.

"I'll help you with the musical, but strictly on _Ladybug_ , okay?"

Adrien nodded quickly, his heart sinking at the guarded look in her eyes. "Alright," he smiled, trying to lighten the mood in the room. "Strictly Ladybug," he confirmed. The silence in the room pushed onto them before he looked down at his replica yo-yo attached to his belt.

"So… you wanna teach me how to use this thing or…?"

Ladybug smiled, unclipping hers as well. "It'd be my pleasure."

* * *

"He was _flirting_ with Ladybug," Marinette groaned, once again face-planting into her pillows as Tikki sat by her arm and patted her lightly in comfort. "He was flirting with… _me!_ Adrien Agreste was flirting with me, but it wasn't _me_!"

"It is certainly a complicated situation…" Tikki said slowly, and Marinette groaned in agreement. The kwami sighed and glanced at the alarm clock - it was already past midnight. Poor Marinette, she'd been fumbling around with these thoughts for more than an hour now.

"I'm not assuming things, am I?" Marinette asked her kwami, sitting up and grasping one of her pillows to her chest. "The way he talked to me… it was… weird, right?"

Tikki nodded. "I certainly thought so, and I was watching the whole things from inside the earrings!"

"Oh my gosh," Marinette sighed, her face in her hands. "I blatantly turned him down too… Living a double life is so hard!"

"Maybe this is a good thing!" Tikki tried to reassure her, flying in front of her face. "It means that there's something about you that Adrien really likes… just try to be more open with him now on when you're Marinette!"

Marinette froze in fear and instantly shook her head. "I-I can't."

"Why not? What's stopping you?"

"He's not interested in me."

Tikki sighed. "Marinette, _you're_ Ladybug, you're the same person!"

"But I'm not!" Marinette snapped, and instantly covered her mouth with her hands. She glanced toward her hatchway and waited a few moments, afraid that her parents had heard her.

"Marinette," Tikki whispered seriously. "I've spent enough time with you to know that you are confident, and outgoing, and extremely kind. Please have more faith in yourself! _You are Ladybug_ , and Adrien likes Ladybug!"

"I just…" She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling smaller and smaller by the minute. "I can't talk to him like I talk to other people, no matter how hard I try… he's not my parents, or Alya, or… Chat…"

The thought of her kitty sent her mind spinning and her heart tightening. "Tikki," she breathed. "Why is it so much easier for me to talk to Chat than it is to Adrien?"

Her kwami was silent, her small eyes filled with pity for the girl.

There had been that moment between them… that charged moment in her room… and just last night he'd almost… hadn't he been close to… _kissing_ … or had it just been a big joke…?

No... Chat liked her as _Ladybug_ , not as Marinette.

 _But... what if he..._

"Arghh! I don't have time for any of this!" Marinette agonized, gripping the sides of her head in frustration. "I need to focus on the musical, I can't get distracted and let everyone down… I bet Adrien isn't getting distracted from his role with petty stuff like this!"

Tikki patted Marinette on the shoulder. "Oh Marinette…" she sighed. "You never know… there's a lot about that boy that we don't know."

"But still, I'm probably the only girl with a secret identity who's falling for two different guys…"

"Well," Tikki nodded. "You're probably right about that one…"

Marinette simply face-planted again, groaning into her pillows.

* * *

"Alright, let's run it from the top!" Alya announced to the class through a megaphone. Where she'd gotten it… Adrien wasn't sure, but she looked really thrilled with it. Nino, on the other hand, spent most of the day with his face in his hands.

"I'm the _co-director_ ," he stressed to his blonde-haired best friend. "Be honest with me buddy… does it look like she's overpowering me when it comes to directing?"

"Well…"

Nino groaned and slinked away, and Adrien wished he could give him a pep talk or something, but he wasn't in the best mood himself.

Last night was still painfully seared into his memory. He kept agonizing over every little detail – getting caught with his costume on, how beautiful Ladybug had looked, their silly banter… and his slip-up. His catastrophic, enormous slip up. How could he go full Chat Noir on her like that? Asking to know about her secret identity? Was he _crazy?!_

Adrien had so much on his mind that he was finding rehearsals difficult. He just couldn't get into his role today…

But it wasn't just him. Marinette also seemed out of sorts. She was trying her best to portray the sly and confident personality that Adrien exuded as Chat, but it just wasn't working for her. Her line delivery was off, and it seemed that she also lacked energy like he did. She kept looking down at the script and flipping through it furiously, muttering to herself and shaking her head. He wished that he could give her some advice as Chat…

No. That was a whole other problem in itself. That _thing_ that Chat had going on with Marinette… it wasn't just platonic, even _he_ knew that. Did Marinette? Probably… Geez, Adrien was just digging himself into a bigger hole. Why couldn't he just smarten up and act like a rational person for once?!

"Alright guys," Alya called, and Adrien snapped out of his thoughts. He was sitting on top of a table with Marinette, who looked a bit dazed. "I don't know what's going on with you two today, but we really need to nail this scene so try to liven up!"

"Got it," Marinette sighed. Adrien cringed next to her and nodded.

"Okay. You guys are sitting on a rooftop at night, and this is the scene where you two realize – maybe there is something more than just friendship between you! This is an _important_ turning point in the plot, so we need to add an emotional impact to it!" Alya looked at her best friend, who seemed to be zoning out slightly. " _Marinette_."

Marinette flinched before nodding vigorously. "I got it, Alya! No problem," she giggled nervously.

Alya looked at her nervously before sighing. "Alright then, aaandddd –"

"Action!" Nino called from the corner of the room. Alya turned and gasped, but before she could intervene and yell at her co-director, Marientte had already started the scene.

"My Lady…" Marinette said, turning to face Adrien. Their classmates had stopped whatever they were doing to watch the pair, most trying to contain their laughter at the slightly husky voice that Marinette used for Chat Noir. Alya had insisted on it.

"What is it, Chat Noir?" Adrien asked. Thankfully, he kept his voice at his normal pitch, which was probably for the good of the entire class.

"I've been thinking recently…" Marinette paused, glancing down at the script. "Is it… my fate to continue to chase after you for all my nine lives?"

"… What do you mean?"

"You know how I feel about you," Marinette sighed. "And I know that it's one-sided but… I don't want it to be! I think we're… _purrfect_ for each other…"

Adrien cringed at the way Marinette's voice drawled flatly before looking down at his script and continuing. "Chat, we have a job to do and that's it. We're partners," he stressed.

Marinette clumsily moved to grasp Adrien's hand. "It's more than that and you know it."

"Chat…"

They stared at each other, their faces close, before Marinette scrunched her nose and looked down at the next line she was supposed to read. "My Lady, won't you… won't you - _oh my gosh_ I can't do it…"

"CUT!"

Marinette tore her hand away from Adrien's and he watched with concern as she jumped off the table and faced Alya, who was steaming. "What's the deal, girl?!" She asked, her voice hot. "Look, I know something is up with you today but _why_ can't you get through this scene?"

"Because… because…" She seemed to be struggling with her words, as if she didn't want to say what was on her mind.

"It's fine, Marinette," Adrien encouraged her. She looked back, her eyes wide, before nodding at him and turning to face her best friend.

"The script is awful, Alya," she stated bluntly. Alya jumped back.

" _What_?!"

"I mean it in the nicest way possible," Marinette explained. "But Chat Noir's lines… they're just bad…"

"What do you mean?" Alya asked, her face heating up. "Marinette I wrote this script, and you're the first person to know how much time I put into –"

"I know," Marinette said quickly. "But there's just too many puns, it's –"

"What do you mean _too many puns?!"_

"Alya, the next line you were going to have me say is 'won't you _catsider_ me!' do you know how _awful_ that is?!"

"That's Chat Noir's thing!" Alya yelled, stomping her foot. "He flirts and makes puns!"

" _He's more than that, Alya!_ " Marinette snapped, drowning Alya out and stunning the class into shocked silence. Adrien watched, his mouth wide. "Chat Noir is flirty, sure, and he likes to be funny and try and make people laugh, but he's also sweet, and sensitive, and considerate of others!" Marinette was breathing heavily, her cheeks hot. "You can't just shave his personality down to that. There's _more to him_."

The class lapsed into a heavy silence before Marinette's cheeks turned beet red. "I-I…" She coughed before shaking her head quickly. "That's just how I feel," she muttered before turning around and hopping back onto the table next to Adrien.

She wouldn't look up from her hands, but all Adrien could do was _stare_ at her.

He'd thought that the script was awful as well, but of course he hadn't been in any position to speak up about it. But Marinette… she…

"Okay," Alya said slowly, gaining her composure. "Clearly you… uhm, _know_ more about Chat Noir than I thought, which is really bumming me out since I'm your best friend and all…" She approached Marinette and grabbed her hand before pulling her off the table. "Hallway. Now."

The two friends closed the door behind them before the burst out into excited chatter.

"Does Marinette _know_ Chat Noir?!"

"Is she friends with him?"

"There's gotta be something going on… the way she talked about him just now…!"

"Wow," Nino whistled, hopping up onto the table in Marinette's place. "That was _something_. I've never seen Marinette get so heated before. I wonder if she's close to Chat Noir, huh?"

Adrien didn't answer, but instead stared at the door where the girl had vanished.

 _No one had ever spoken up for him like that before. No one had… ever talked so sincerely about him like that since… Since his mother…_

"She's amazing," Adrien breathed, turning to face his confused best friend.

"What?" Nino asked, squinting his eyes.

"I said she's amazing," Adrien stated. "And she's right. The script sucks."


	6. Chapter 6

THIS WAS SO HARD TO WRITE! I hope you like it, because I almost threw my computer out the window multiple times!

Word count: 3.8K+

* * *

Explaining everything to Alya had been… _difficult_ , to say the least. Once Marinette had told her best friend about Chat Noir's lessons, she'd been bombarded with dozens of questions – some extremely personal, which Marientte didn't really mind that much because she knew Alya meant well and cared about her.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me about this!" Alya agonized, her hands in her hair. "Did you not trust me?"

"No!" Marinette yelped quickly, trying to reassure her. "Alya, of course I thought about telling you! But, I didn't know whether Chat Noir wanted to keep it a secret or not…"

"Does he like you?" Alya asked suddenly, an eyebrow raised.

"Wha-? No! He's… uh… got a thing with Ladybug, remember?" Marinette stuttered quickly. She willed her mind to forget about those charged moments – those small touches that she had shared with the cat over the past week. Chat Noir, she knew for a fact, liked Ladybug. That didn't scare her.

It was his potential feelings for just _Marinette_ that made her heart flutter.

"Even so…" Alya muttered, stroking her chin in thought. "It sounds like he visits you an awful lot lately. You know so much about him!"

 _Oh, hey Alya, guess what? I've actually known Chat Noir for a long time because I'm secretly Ladybug and never told you!_

Yup. That'd go over well. If Alya was distressed about _this_ secret, imagine her finding out the other one…

"I mean, yeah I guess we spend a lot of time together," Marinette shrugged, wincing. She knew that she was digging herself into a bigger hole here. "We're good friends, and I care about him…"

"Good friends, _right,"_ Alya laughed. Marinette blushed.

"I… that's why I didn't really like parts of the script," Marinette continued. "I'm sorry Alya…"

"Aww, girl – don't sweat it," Alya sighed, pulling Marinette into a hug. "I understand what you mean. I did search _a lot_ of cat puns on the Internet…"

Marinette giggled into her hand and pulled away from Alya.

"So you're _really_ not into Chat Noir?"

" _No_!"

"Just double checking," she winked. "Don't worry, I know that your heart is still loyal to Adrien."

Marinette's face flushed, and her mind flashed back to Adrien, wearing her custom-made Ladybug jumpsuit. She shook her head to dispel the image before she started drooling.

"He's been looking at you an awful lot lately."

… _What?_

Marinette's eyes widened and she looked up, noticing the devilish smile on her friend's face.

"Looking… at me?" Marinette voiced.

"Yeah! Girl, haven't you noticed? I was going to ask you about that too, sooner or later. Are you guys hanging out more after school or something?"

Marinette shook her head. "No. Alya, I've never even _hung out_ with him after school before…" Her mind ran rapidly, thinking back to her late night visit to his room as Ladybug. He hadn't… figured her out, had he?!

"All I know is that he seems to be paying attention to you more," Alya shrugged. "Sometimes, when you're not looking, I see him staring at you and stuff. Maybe he finally smartened up and realized how awesome you are!"

Marinette hit Alya on the shoulder lightly. The two friends giggled good- naturedly together, but Marinette couldn't help but be troubled.

Adrien was one of the nicest guys in school, she knew that, but he was also a very focused and busy individual. He was civil and friendly toward his classmates when they approached him, but the only person he seemed to seek out on his own was Nino. He never made an effort to approach other people, but his classmates were never offended, knowing that on top of school and fencing, he also dealt with a modeling career and a successful and famous father to live up to.

He simply didn't have time to go out of his way and become closer to all of his classmates… that's what Marinette always told herself to make herself feel better, anyway.

Was he… really paying more attention to her now? Why…? Why, after all these months of her crushing from afar…?

"Let's go back in and work on revising the script," Marinette stated quickly, grabbing Alya by the hand and pulling her back inside the classroom. Heads turned toward them when they walked back in, and Marinette grinned sheepishly, remembering her previous and passionate outburst about Chat Noir.

"Nino!" Alya called, rushing toward him. "We're revising the script!"

"We… are?" Nino asked, glancing at Marinette behind Alya's shoulder. "How did you convince her?"

"What do you mean by that?" Alya asked hotly, and Nino shrugged.

"You were so dang proud of that thing. You yelled at me whenever I suggested a change here or there..."

"That's because you're _Nino_ , " Alya laughed, a hand on her hip. "You're _always_ critical of my work, so I wasn't really paying attention to you much."

Nino's mouth dropped open and he glared.

"Alya…" Marinette sighed, biting her lip nervously. These two were something else, that was for sure.

"Sorry," Alya apologized slowly, seeming to realize her insult. "I'll need your help, though. You've met Chat Noir before so you can help me with the script I guess, even though you were a freaky bubble clown when you met him."

"At least I wasn't obsessed with internet connection," Nino muttered.

Marinette snorted, trying to repress a laugh. "You both are too cute," she giggled. Both Nino and Alya shot her a glare.

"Hey everyone, so Nino, Marinette, and I are going to stay after school and rewrite some lines in the script," Alya announced to the class. "So just… uh… hang out, I guess? Okay, bye!"

"I'll help."

Marinette felt a warmth at her shoulder and whirled around too quickly, almost losing her balance. She felt a hand grasp her elbow to steady her.

"Careful!" Adrien looked down at her, concern in his eyes as he held onto her.

"T-thanks," Marintte said quickly, stepping back. Adrien smiled at her before addressing Alya and Nino. "I'll help with the script. I've… uh… met Chat Noir a couple of times, and Ladybug too, so…"

"The more the merrier," Alya grinned, sneaking a glance at Marinette.

The group got permission from the teacher to head to an empty, quiet classroom across the hall to focus. The friends sat in a circle of desks, Alya's laptop out as they brainstormed ideas.

"He uses puns, but not too much," Marinette noted, watching as Alya typed out her suggestions. "Using one every once in awhile is fine though, it'll be true to his character."

"But his puns are _really good_ ," Adrien offered. "He doesn't have time for weak puns – he puts thought into them."

"No… Most of them are really bad, but he's sincere when he tries," Marinette countered, and she smiled when she heard Adrien gasp next to her. Why were they even fighting over this? It was ridiculous!

"Marinette, if Chat Noir were here right now to defend himself, I think he would say –"

"Adrien, _no_ –"

"That you just don't recognize his tail-ent!"

Marinette sighed and collapsed her head into her hands. She peeked up at Nino and Alya and noticed them glancing between her and Adrien, their eyes confused.

They probably weren't used to the two of them acting so naturally around each other…

Well, neither was Marinette, actually…

 _"All I know is that he seems to be paying attention to you more,"_ she remembered Alya saying.

She turned her head and rested it on her arm, looking up at Adrien. He was laughing to himself – grinning slyly. His usual kind, slightly shy demeanor seemed to have vanished.

 _He looks like Chat Noir._

Marinette blinked, trying to dispel that mental image from her head. It was unfair of her to think like that. She knew that she was struggling between her feelings for both Adrien and Chat Noir, but that didn't mean she could mash the two together in her mind.

"Let's rewrite the confession scene," Alya said, scrolling down in her word document. "No puns – we'll make it serious. How can we convey Chat Noir's feelings for Ladybug?"

"He loves her," Nino voiced. "That's what I thought when I saw the pair."

"I agree," Alya sighed dreamily. "He really cares about her, and protects her and stuff."

"She protect him too," Marinette piped up, her face slightly red from hearing her two friends speak so frankly. "They're equals."

"I would argue that Ladybug is even the better fighter," Adrien chuckled. "She's the one that captures all of the akumas, after all. She's amazing."

Marinette was internally screaming, hoping that Adrien wouldn't notice how pleasantly flattered she looked. _He thought she was amazing?_

"He also loves her because she's brave, but also kind and caring," Adrien offered, resting an elbow under his chin, deep in thought. "She just has a lot of good in her heart."

"Sounds like you," Alya laughed, pointing at Marinette. She jumped, her eyes widening at Alya's unknowingly accurate guess.

"R-really? Does it?"

"Yeah!" Alya continued, no doubt getting excited to describe her best friend's good traits in front of her crush. "Marinette, you always do you best to help people and lift them up. You ran for class president just to make sure that everyone had a say in the classroom! You're always looking out for people, I'd say."

Marinette didn't know how to respond. She peeked beside her at Adrien. He seemed lost in thought, his eyes dazed.

"Guess you two have a lot in common," he muttered, sounding distracted. Marinette winced.

They spent the rest of their class time revising the script and making the characters more accurate. Once they were finished, Marinette was pleased with their final product.

"Here, everyone!" Alya called, passing out the scripts to the class just as the bell chimed, signaling the end of school. "On Monday we'll work on the dance numbers!"

Marinette was slipping her backpack on, being careful not to jostle Tikki too much when Alya sidled up to her. "You have homework this weekend!"

"Homework?" Marinette echoed, and Alya grinned before clasping her hands together mischievously.

"Learn the steps to the slow dance scene. We're going to practice it on Monday with Rose helping."

Marinette paled. Not the slow dance… she'd been dreading this.

Of course, it was a dream come true to dance with Adrien, but Marinette was extremely worried about her two left feet. She was in no way a dancer. Middle school dances had been a painful experience for her. If she wasn't going to totally embarrass herself in front of Adrien on Monday, she would need to practice.

 _I'll ask Chat Noir to help_ , she thought instantly, smiling. She'd seen him dance before during their missions – he could help her!

She could picture it in her head; Chat taking her hand… placing his other on her waist… leading her slowly around her room, their chests almost touching…

 _OKAAAAAAY MARINETTE, CALM DOWN!_ She put a hand to her cheek, trying to hide the flush that covered her face. She had to stop thinking about that cat that way! There was _no way_ that she was going to ask him for help now! She'd just need to practice by herself.

 _It'll be fine_ , Marinette reassured herself, glancing down at Adrien as he smiled at her and left the room. She blinked, and for a split moment she pictured him wearing a black mask – donning a black suit. She blinked again and it was gone.

 _Everything is going to be just… fine…_

* * *

It was finally the weekend, and Adrien's modeling schedule was relatively light for once. Shortly after dinner with Nathalie on Saturday evening, he found himself already transformed and out his bedroom window heading in the direction of Marinette's house.

He wanted to see her more and more lately, and his heartbeat quickened just thinking about her. Marinette had always been his quiet classmate. That was it. Now… she was so much more.

 _She's kind, and passionate, and sticks up for what she believes in_ , Chat thought, grinning to himself as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop. _She believes in me. She defended me. I'm more than just a silly superhero to her._

He wanted to know more about her – everything about her. He knew that she liked fashion and that she was half-Chinese, but that was only scratching the surface. What was her favorite food? What made her happy? What were her fears- her insecurities? _He needed to know._

She wasn't in her room when he climbed down the hatch and peeked in. His sharp ears picked up the clink of silverware and the sounds of laughter and light conversation. She was still eating dinner with her family, it seemed.

Maybe he'd just wait for her in her room. Were they close enough for him to do that?

 _No_ , that rational voice in the back of Chat's head scolded. _You are totally not!_

 _Meh._ Chat started to climb down the ladder regardless. Listening to that voice in his head was never fun, anyways.

He made himself comfy on her bed, legs crossed and grin wicked. Pictures of himself – of Adrien – were still plastered everywhere around her room, and it only caused Chat to become more excited. There was something thrilling about this large secret that he danced around Marinette. She already liked Adrien – maybe he could get her to like Chat as well. It felt satisfying.

 _Her feelings aren't just some game_ , that voice snapped again, and Chat winced. Of course not. This wasn't a game! He truly liked Marinette, and wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. Why he couldn't muster up the courage and do that as Adrien instead of Chat, he had no clue.

"I'll be upstairs!" He heard Marinette call to her parents, starting to climb up to her room. Chat straightened, folding his hands in front of him. "If, uh… you hear any crashes and stuff, don't worry! I have to practice dancing!"

"That's reassuring!" Her father's booming voice called back with a laugh.

Marinette giggled, sounding like bells, and pushed open the door to her room.

She nearly fell backwards off the ladder in shock, but caught herself and quickly climbed up into her room, shutting the door behind her.

" _Chat Noir!_ "

"Hey there, Princess," Chat grinned, giving a little wave from her bed. Her reaction had been hilarious!

Marinette stormed up to him and pushed him ungracefully off of her bed. Chat yelped and tumbled to the ground, but still smiled up at her when he landed. _He probably deserved that._

"You can't just break into peoples' rooms like this!" Marinette huffed, sitting down onto her bed and glaring at the wall, legs crossed. Chat leapt up and took a seat next to her. Thankfully, she didn't push him off again.

"In my defense, your balcony door is unlocked _all the time_."

"Well maybe I'll start locking it then," she muttered, turning to frown at him. Chat gave a dramatic gasp, shaking his head.

"Don't do that! You'll _never_ let me in if you do that!"

"That's right! I won't!"

"I'll have to just go through the door to the bakery then and meet the parents, huh?" He grinned. Marinette groaned, slapping her forehead in agony.

"You are never going to meet my parents," she stated. Chat shrugged.

"You never know, Princess."

"Oh, I _know."_

They sat in silence, smirks playing at the edges of their lips as they carried on with their sarcastically dramatic fight. Marinette wasn't really mad, he knew.

"Well, don't mind me," he finally said, hands raised innocently. "Go about your business."

Marinette glanced at him, confusion clouding her blue eyes. "My business…?"

"Aren't you going to practice dancing or something? Practice works best with an audience!" He smiled, watching her mouth drop open.

"You heard that?" She groaned, averting her eyes from him. Chat punched her good-naturedly on the shoulder.

"Of course I did. I was sitting right up here," he answered.

"No," Marinette snapped instantly, standing up and crossing her arms. "There's no way I'm going to dance around and make a total fool of myself while _you_ watch."

 _She wouldn't, huh?_

 _Hmm…_

Without giving too much thought to it, Chat Noir leapt to his feet and grabbed Marinette's hand before she could protest. He placed it on his waist, and put his other hand on top of Marinette's shoulder.

Her face flushed instantly at the contact, and she tried to back away but Chat held her hand to his waist. He leaned in closer, their noses almost touching. "I'll help you practice," he whispered. Marinette paused, her breath slowing and her mouth opening slightly, staring into his emerald eyes.

"You will, huh?" She breathed. Chat nodded, and let his hand fall away from Marinette's. She kept holding onto his waist, and he smiled, enjoying how small the world suddenly seemed when he was so close to her – it was just them two, in their own little bubble.

Chat placed his other hand on her other shoulder, and Marinette took a deep breath, moving slightly closer to his body and smiling softly.

 _She trusts me._

"I don't know how to dance," she whispered.

"You'll get the hang out it," he chuckled softly. "Just trust yourself and lead."

"Lead…?"

She glanced down, and seemed to suddenly realize that _she_ was in the man's position, her hand on Chat's waist.

"Oh my god, Chat _no,"_ she panicked, trying to switch positions. Chat wouldn't let her, laughing.

"Newsflash Mari – you're playing a _guy_ in the musical," he chuckled. She hid her flushed face against his shoulder, and he couldn't help but feel his heart start to beat quickly at the contact. "You'll do fine," he reassured her.

"This is so embarrassing," she muttered, starting to shuffle her feet awkwardly. He let her lead him around the room, tightening his hands on her shoulders slightly.

"You're doing great, don't be embarrassed," he whispered. She grew more confident with each step, and soon they were moving more quickly – dancing to an imaginary tune.

"Why are you good at this, anyways?" Marinette asked, biting her lip when she nearly stepped on Chat's foot. He moved it out of the way just in time and laughed.

"My father is an important person, so I go to a lot of events," he answered truthfully. A lot of people had important parents in Paris, it'd be fine to tell her that much, right?

They kept moving, and Marinette finally tore her eyes away from the ground and looked up into his face. "Events like… balls?"

"A few, yeah."

"I'm trying to picture you in a tux, but it look ridiculous because in my head you're still wearing the mask," she giggled. She spun them around a few times, her confidence seeming to climb as they continued dancing. Chat grinned, his eyes lighting up.

She was beautiful when she believed in herself – expressed herself.

"Do you go to parties often?" He asked her. She snorted.

"My parents are bakers, Chat."

"There are no festivals that honor… uh… bread or anything?"

She smacked him on the shoulder and he apologized.

"Of course not! I have been to a few block parties though, and my parents and I always bake all the deserts. It's always a huge hit," she told him.

What was it like? Spending time with your parents like that – doing something so simple as baking for a party… Chat had no idea.

"It sounds wonderful," he answered truthfully, and Marinette must have detected the longing in his voice because she glanced up at him quickly, her frown troubled.

"Are you alright…?"

"Perfect. I'm dancing with you after all, aren't I?"

Marinette flushed, and hid her smile into his shoulder. "You can tell me anything, you know," she mumbled, her voice muffled. "I want to get to know you." She paused. "And not just for the play."

Now it was Chat's turn to blush, his cheeks heating up at Marinette's statement. "What do you want to know?"

Her answer was specific, and surprised him. "Why do you wear the mask?"

"To protect Paris…?"

She shook her head, moving a hand up and resting it on his chest. "You know what I mean," she whispered. "You wear it because you're trying to cover something up. What is it?"

Marinette was dangerously accurate in her assumptions, and it was throwing Chat for a loop. How was she guessing this? How did she know that something was amiss in his personal life, and that his behavior as Chat Noir was a way to compensate for that?

His persona gave him the chance to be free when he wasn't aloud to be at home.

Did Ladybug also use the mask for similar reasons? Now that he thought about it, it would make sense if she did. She was so confident as Ladybug – maybe that wasn't the case in her civilian form…?

He glanced down at Marinette, who was staring up at him, looking for an answer. He sighed. His original goal was to learn as much about Marinette as possible… but…

This was nice…

This was nice, too.

So he told her… more than he ever thought he could. About his home. About feeling unloved by his family – feeling used. He was vague, but also specific – didn't mention certain aspects his like his father or his modeling, afraid that Marinette would figure him out. But still, it was enough.

He explained his confidence and his flirtatious nature – explained that it was an escape for him.

"I'm not shallow," he tried to tell her earnestly. "I don't act like I do because I don't have any respect, I –"

"I always figured as much," Marinette cut him off. "I always knew that you respected me… respected Ladybug…"

And so he continued. Talked for probably an hour, maybe longer. Words came tumbling out – thoughts he'd never expressed into words before. It was so easy to talk to Marinette. She listened with an eagerness that made his heart melt.

Soon, he had nothing left to say, so he just stopped talking. They'd long since stopped dancing, their feet still as they held onto each other.

"I like this," Marinette said after a few moments of silence, her head close to his chest and her eyes closed. "I like talking to you. Why do I like talking to you so much?"

"I'm charming?" He guessed.

"No, I'm serious."

Well… he had nothing to lose here.

"It's because we have something," he breathed. Marinette opened her eyes and slowly looked up. Chat moved slightly, reaching down, closer… until –

"I like someone else," she whispered. He stopped.

"Adrien Agreste?" He guessed. Marinette nodded. "I like someone else, too."

"Ladybug?"

He nodded.

"We have something…" Marinette muttered, sighing before pulling away. "But we don't. Do you understand that? We like other people, so this _something_ , whatever we have, can't be more than that. Just… an idea."

Chat nodded, his claws clenched.

He felt safe behind his mask – free to be himself. The mask protected him…

"Of course, Princess," Chat echoed. "An idea."

So then… why was it that now, all he wanted to do was tear it off?


	7. Chapter 7

Summary: Alya and Nino direct a class play for the spring festival, and the roles are announced by lottery. Everyone is shocked with the outcome, and circumstances push Marinette and Adrien together during the following weeks of rehearsals.

In this chapter: Marinette breaks Adrien's window, tries to cover up the accident, and ends up going on a moonlit walk with him instead.

Oh my gosh... sorry that it's been three weeks since I've posted... College is hard!

Read it at marispots on tumblr! Reviews and favs are much appreciated!

Word count: 3.2K+

* * *

Marinette decided to visit Adrien as Ladybug the next night. It was a Saturday, and she was worried that he wouldn't be home due to a heavy day of modeling, but then again it didn't really matter much. She just needed to distract herself – to be near Adrien in anyway possible, even if that meant just hanging around outside his house like a stalker.

She needed to reassure herself… to convince herself that Adrien was the boy she was in love with. Not Chat Noir. _Not Chat._

Ladybug jerked, her thoughts plaguing her mind, and nearly missed the jump to the next rooftop. She scrambled and pushed herself up, breathing heavily as she rolled onto the top of the roof.

And then she started shaking.

She latched her arms around her knees and caved in on herself, guilt swirling in her mind. She liked them both. She wanted to _be_ with them both. Adrien was laughter and sunshine and warmth, everything that she thought she'd always need in life to go along with her own sunny disposition.

But Chat… he was mysterious, and easy to talk to, and _passionate_ … He filled her with something that she couldn't even place into words. Whatever it was, though… she liked it.

"Oh my god," Ladybug moaned, sinking lower into herself. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. This whole musical was supposed to be a good thing; an opportunity that would have gotten her closer to Adrien, and _only_ Adrien. Now… now her feelings were a tumbled mess.

 _Marinette…?_ A voice resonated in her mind.

"I'm fine," Ladybug huffed to herself, standing up and unclipping her yo-yo from her belt. "I'm fine, Tikki."

 _Please don't overthink this whole thing… You have nothing to feel guilty about, you're not even in a relationship with either of them!_ Tikki chimed.

"Thanks for reminding me," Ladybug tried to joke, her laugh sounding hollow.

But Tikki was right. Why was she getting so worked up about this? Adrien didn't even know that she liked him. She just needed to sort out her feelings, and approach this situation head on. There was no use breaking down over it.

Ladybug arrived at Adrien's window shortly after, her expression leveled and calm. His lights were out… he wasn't home.

"Darn it," she sighed, plopping down against his windowsill. "He's still out modeling, probably."

 _Maybe we should just go back home_ , Tikki offered.

"Yeah, you're right… It's a shame, I just really wanted to see him," Ladybug muttered, slumping back against his window.

Apparently the window wasn't as expensive as the rest of Adrien's mansion, because the panel gave way behind her back. Ladybug yelped before falling backwards and tumbling into Adrien's room, crashing onto his floor.

 _Marinette!_ Tikki panicked in her ear. Ladybug groaned before sitting up and rubbing her head.

"Ow," she winced. "What happened?" She looked down and gasped, jumping to her feet. "Oh no, I snapped the frame on the window!" The wood that held the two panels of glass together had split, leaving the window in two separate pieces. Ladybug picked up the panels and tried to place them back above the windowsill, but without a working frame it was no good.

"I need glue," Ladybug huffed, running to Adrien's dresser and switching the light on. She rifled through his drawers, her mind completely glossing over the fact that this was a _major_ invasion of privacy. She was in too much of a panic to even think about it.

There were normal things in his top drawer – baseball cards, packs of bubble gum, some rings – but no glue. How was she going to fix the window?!

 _You have that really strong super glue in your room, the one you used on that dress you made last week!_ Tikki reminded her.

That was right, she did… She could just leave and…

Ladybug blinked, light flashing across her eyes. She gasped, running to look out above the windowsill.

 _Headlights!_

"Adrien's home!" Ladybug yelped, tearing at her hair. " _Tikki_! I need to distract him – can I trust you to fly home and get the glue?"

 _Okay!_ Her kwami responded, determined.

Ladybug nodded and unclipped her yo-yo, swinging out the window and landing in the shadows near the gate of the mansion. She closed her eyes, letting her alter-ego fall away. Tikki flew up in front of her face.

"I'm counting on you," Marinette whispered. Tikki nodded before flying off.

Marinette's heart quickened in her chest, peeking from around the side of the gate as Adrien's limousine parked in the driveway. The blonde boy stepped out, looking completely exhausted. She could practically see the dark circles under his eyes.

"Oh, Adrien…" She sighed. She hated to see him overworked. She knew that he was busy with modeling, but she didn't know that he sometimes came home _this_ late.

Adrien's big limousine driver escorted him to the front door, and they both started to walk inside. Seizing the opportunity, Marinette steeled herself before cupping her hands to her mouth.

" _Adrien_!"

Adrien and his chauffer whipped around, and Adrien's emerald eyes widened, recognizing the voice and the figure at the gate.

"Marinette?!"

Suddenly, he was running, and Marinette planted her feet to the ground, willing herself to stay put and not turn and flee. Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw the smile that was spread across his face. Those dark circles she thought she had seen earlier had all but vanished. He looked brighter – happier.

 _Is he that happy to see me?_

He skidded to a stop in front of the gate and beamed at her. "What are you doing here?"

 _Oh, hey Adrien, nothing much! I actually snuck into your room as Ladybug and broke your window! Oops!_

"I…uh, was passing through the neighborhood and thought of you!" She lied, her cheeks reddening at her own bold statement. Adrien flushed slightly as well, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"At this hour, though? You shouldn't walk alone at night, Marinette," he stressed.

"I'm fine, trust me," Marinette interjected quickly. _Really, I fight bad guys for a living, I don't need to worry about them,_ she thought. Still, Adrien's concern had her heart fluttering.

"Next time you're out late and need to walk home, call me," Adrien stated. "I'll give you my number – here, hold on a sec."

Suddenly he was opening up the gate and ushering her inside. Marinette stumbled forward clumsily, forcing her limbs to move. She was elated that he was inviting her inside, but her nerves were still on edge about the window. She knew that Adrien's father was strict, and she really didn't want him to get in trouble for something he didn't do.

"I'll just put my bag upstairs and –"

"No!" Marinette yelped quickly, stopping on Adrien's front porch. She grabbed his wrist without thinking – jerking him back. He looked at her, and then down at her hand.

"I-I mean, I need to get home quickly, I don't think I have time to come inside. I'm sorry Adrien," Marinette stammered. She glanced down at her hand as well and flushed, quickly drawing it away from his wrist.

He caught it before she could, and intertwined his fingers with hers. Marinette felt her brain start to short circuit.

"I'll walk you home," he stated, his gaze unwavering.

"You don't have to-"

"It's not up for a debate, Marinette," he said, tugging her along. Marinette stumbled after him, his pace quick and determined.

"Adrien!"

The two teenagers turned. Nathalie stood in the doorway, hugging a clipboard to her chest. She looked tired, and her eyes were anxious.

"I'd advise you to stay in for the night," she stated. "The chauffer can drive your friend home safely."

Something tense and shifting filled the air between Adrien and his father's assistant, and Marinette felt Adrien tighten his hand around hers at Nathalie's command.

"Nathalie, please… just this once," Adrien muttered, his eyes hard. Nathalie took a step back, sighing.

"Your father will not like this."

"Tell him I left before you could stop me," Adrien said, turning around. Marinette followed him nervously, and looked back at the older woman. Nathalie sighed again before nodding and returning back inside.

"Adrien…?" Marinette asked tentatively, trying to match his pace and get a good look at his face.

"Don't worry about it," he smiled at her, his emerald eyes bright. She let him lead her out of the gate, and soon they were walking through the streets of Paris, the streetlights dim above them.

Along the way Adrien handed her phone to exchange numbers. "Don't forget to text me if you ever need me," he stressed, and Marinette nodded, barely comprehending the fact that she now had Adrien's number saved into her phone.

Autumn was quickly turning into winter, and Marinette shivered, wishing she had worn a thicker jacket as she gave his phone back to him.

"Are you cold?" Adrien asked. Before she could answer, he had let go of her hand and was shrugging off his jacket. She tried to protest, but Adrien insisted.

"Thank you," Marinette smiled, putting it on and sighing into its warmth. Adrien caught her hand again, and she looked up at him, smiling.

Was this a dream? Adrien was walking her home… holding her hand? If this had been a month ago, Marinette wouldn't have been able to function next to him. Now… she was calm. She could look him in the eye without feeling light-headed.

When had this change happened to them? Since when could she keep her composure, and since when did Adrien start paying attention to her more – since when did he start wanting to hold her hand?

She couldn't explain the shift in their relationship. Could he…?

The thought of the broken window in his room had all but vanished from her mind. Marinette was walking on cloud nine – nothing could ruin this moment…

Except…

They passed the base of the Eiffel Tower, and Marinette's mind flashed back to a fight last spring – an mime turned into akuma had sliced the tower in half, and she remembered running with Chat Noir through the streets, working to defeat the akuma and restore the tower back to normal.

 _Chat_ …

Marinette's heart fluttered at the thought of him, and suddenly she was no longer elated to be holding Adrien's hand.

She felt guilty. Dirty.

Adrien chatted idly beside her, but Marinette could barely listen as her mind closed in on herself, and guilt clutched at her heart.

* * *

Marinette had gone quiet beside him, and he could tell that she was deep in thought – she always bit her lip when she was thinking, and right then she was biting it so hard that it was close to bleeding.

Adrien had a good bet as to what she was thinking about. She was thinking about… well… only him, really. But she didn't know that.

Marinette was agonizing over him… and Chat Noir…

What was he even doing? Why was he doing this to her? He should just tell her, right now. He could pull her into an alley – somewhere with privacy – and transform in front of her. Explain everything. Clear the air. And then she would step up to him, reach up – pull him down to meet her lips –

 _Stop, stop, stop_ , he scolded himself, grimacing. That was not an option. No one could know who he really was. It could put them in danger – they could be targeted. _Marinette_ could be targeted. That was the last thing Adrien wanted.

It was just out of the question. Ladybug didn't even know who he was…

 _Ladybug…_

His chest clenched at the thought of His Lady, and his stomach dropped with guilt. What would she think, if she knew that he was practically pining after his classmate? Would she be angry?

 _Probably not_ , the voice in the back of his head reasoned. _She never liked you like that, anyway._

That's right. Ladybug would never love him, not as Chat Noir _or_ as Adrien Agreste. It was a lost cause.

But that didn't matter. He still would fight for her, die for her. He loved her that much.

So why was he feeling this way over Marinette, then? If he had undying love for Ladybug, then why was he feeling so conflicted?

Just like Marinette, Adrien had also fallen into his troubled thoughts. They walked in silence, their hands still intertwined.

Marinette used to be so nervous around him, but now she was so calm – so natural. The reason he'd visited her so often as Chat was to bring that side out of her.

It looked like he'd finally cracked her flighty exterior, and as Adrien no less. He grinned, his mind brightening momentarily at the thought. _He didn't need the mask, after all._

"What are you grinning about?" Marinette asked, peeking up at his face. He laughed and shrugged.

"It's not important," he tried to say, but Marinette huffed.

"Tell me!"

"Well…" He paused. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I always thought you used to be scared of me…"

Marinette's eyes widened. "Scared of you? Why?"

"You always stammered whenever I talked to you… I always felt bad," Adrien shrugged. Marinette stopped walking and jumped in front of him, her eye frantic.

"I've never been scared of you, please believe me!" She quickly stated. "I know I was sort of awkward and stuff, but it wasn't because I was scared!"

"I never thought you were awkward," he told her honestly. "In fact, I always thought that it was kind of cute." He shrugged, and Marinette blushed. "But I like that you're more open with me now!"

"I like it too," Marinette smiled.

They continued walking, and passed a man on a street corner, a violin in his hand. He played a soothing melody that drifted through the quiet Paris streets. Suddenly, Marinette was glancing between Adrien and the man before she pulled on his hand and yanked him to the side.

"Woah! Marinette?"

"Let's dance," she breathed, her cheeks dusted red. His eyes widened slightly, memories of last night drifting through his head. Her dimly lit room – dancing to an invisible tune. She seemed to realize her bold statement rather quickly, and chuckled nervously. "Practice," she stated instead. "Let's practice. We'll have to do this for real in a few weeks, after all. In front of a bunch of people, too…"

"Won't your parents be angry if you're late?" Adrien questioned, shivering slightly as Marinette placed her hands on his waist. _This girl was going to be the death of him._

"Just a couple minutes, that's all," she told him. Adrien grinned, and placed his hands on top of her shoulders – taking the women's role for the second time this weekend.

The man looked up from his violin and tipped his hat at them before he continued playing. Marinette giggled, and started to lead him around the sidewalk.

"I'm pretty nervous to play Chat Noir," she told him as they danced. Adrien looked down at her, and she shrugged. "I don't feel like I'll be able to do him justice."

"The script is great, and you're fantastic," Adrien said, nudging her shoulder with his. "And I don't know about you, but I think he'll be really happy with your performance." _I don't just think, I'm positive_ , he thought smugly to himself.

"Well," Marinette began, her sapphire eyes bright. "I bet Ladybug will also think that you're amazing… call it intuition, I guess."

Adrien smiled, and gripped her shoulders just a bit more tightly, testing the waters. Marinette, in turn, stepped a bit closer to him, their chests barely touching.

They both slowly moved to the melody, and as they continued… their dance started to feel less and less like "practice." Marinette spun him around – her laughter sounding like bells – before she stopped and placed her head against his chest.

Adrien breathed slowly, his hand moving up to her hair – gliding his fingers through the silky strands. They'd stopped dancing by then, just like last night. The music had stopped as well – the man had packed up his bag, glancing at the couple and smiling slyly as he walked away toward home.

"Marinette our music is gone," Adrien whispered into her ear.

"Shh…"

Adrien laughed, nodding as he pulled her tighter to him. They were in a bubble again… But this time, he was _Adrien_. He wasn't wearing a mask… it was all him, and she was here, dancing with him, embracing him…

Was this real?

"This… feels so familiar," Marinette sighed.

Adrien stalled above her, his eyes widening as the quiet mood shattered. He stopped moving his feet, and Marinette stumbled into him.

"What do you mean by familiar…?" Adrien asked, his hands moving down to grip her arms. She looked up at him – perplexed – and no doubt noticed the panic in his eyes.

"I – I…" She struggled with her words. "I mean, I guess I've dreamt about dancing with you for a long time, I don't – _wait_ , I mean – not that I dream about you a lot or anything, that's not…"

She was back to stammering like she'd used to, and Adrien suddenly realized that he was gripping her arms a bit too tightly – making her nervous. He let go and took a step back, his mind working into overdrive.

She was lying… He could just tell. That familiar feeling she'd mentioned… she was talking about Chat Noir.

Did she suspect him? Had Marinette figured him out? A hot panic ran through his veins – he couldn't let anyone know who he was! He and Ladybug had sworn on it… he couldn't break His Lady's trust! Imagine what she'd think if she found out that Marinette had discovered him…

" _You careless cat, what did I say?!"_

The thought made him shiver as he looked down at Marinette, who was clearly upset. "Adrien…" she started. "Whatever I did wrong, I'm sorry…"

"It's not you," Adrien reassured her quickly, though he didn't close the gap between them – didn't console her with his hands like he would have done moments before. He couldn't risk this anymore. He couldn't get close to her as Adrien _or_ Chat Noir.

What had he been _thinking_ , all this time?

"The bakery is just down the road from here," Marinette muttered, pointing toward the direction of her home. Her eyes were crestfallen and confused, and Adrien so badly wanted to make things right – to see her smile again. God, he loved her smile…

"I'll walk you there," he said instantly, though Marinette held up a hand – declining his offer.

"I'd rather just… uhm… walk alone if you don't mind," she whispered, trying to force herself to smile. It fell flat.

"Marinette, I'm sorry…"

There were so many things to be sorry for, and he couldn't even tell her those reasons without giving himself away.

"Don't be sorry," Marinette said quickly, before stepping back and shrugging off his jacket. She handed it to him, and Adrien reluctantly took it back. "I'll see you on Monday. Let's… just try to do our best for Alya and Nino, okay?"

And with that, she pushed past him, hurrying home. Adrien watched her go, willing himself to stay put – to not run after her.

This was for the best… for everybody.

… _Right_?


End file.
